By A Correspondent – A fire broke out at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare on Saturday afternoon, destroying a storeroom and vital institutional records.
The inferno, which erupted atop the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where the storeroom is located, triggered panic among patients, staff, and nearby residents.
The Harare City Council Fire Brigade responded swiftly. Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer Moses Bvumavaranda confirmed that his team arrived at the scene within seven minutes of receiving the report.
“We received a fire report this morning and reacted swiftly. Within seven minutes, our team was already on the ground. The fire was quite serious, but we managed to extinguish it before it could spread further,” he said.
Eyewitnesses said they saw smoke billowing from the rooftop and tried to help contain the blaze.
“I was doing laundry when we saw the smoke and started shouting, ‘fire, fire!’ We are just relieved the fire brigade arrived quickly,” one witness recounted. “I also tried to assist in putting out the flames when I saw the section was burning.”
Visibly shaken hospital officials deferred to Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume to address the media.
“We are currently on the rooftop of one of the hospital buildings. This area was being used to store critical institutional records, which by law must be preserved permanently. Some of these were placed near or under solar panels—around ten of them. Other documents were stored in the laboratory,” he said.
Civil Protection Department Chief Director Mr Nathan Nkomo assured the public that the government would assist.
“We are preparing a report to present to Cabinet, which is the highest decision-making body. Once we get feedback, action will be taken urgently. As you know, we have a listening President,” he said.
Preliminary investigations suggest the fire may have been caused by a fault in the solar system. Authorities are continuing their inquiries.
This latest incident comes just days after another fire destroyed goods belonging to small business owners in downtown Harare. A few weeks ago, dormitories housing Form One and Form Two students at Churchill Boys High School were also destroyed in a separate blaze.