Fire guts Deekay Suppliers’ warehouse

A Deekay Suppliers’ warehouse at Ginnery Corner in Blantyre caught fire yesterday which Blantyre City Council (BCC) Fire Brigade took close to five hours to extinguish.

The Nation’s visit to the scene around 8am found BCC firefighters in the process of putting out the fire while warehouse workers were removing undamaged goods to safety.

Bizwick James, a foreman at the warehouse, said around 6am yesterday one of the guards informed him that there was smoke coming from the warehouse.

“At that point, I called two of my bosses who rushed here to open the place. When I arrived, I found the fire brigade team already here and in the course of their duties. Initially, the fire started in the warehouse’s left section where we were keeping agricultural chemicals.

“However, we suspect the chemicals contributed to the escalation of the fire to other sections where we store block boards, ceiling boards, wheelbarrows, geysers, iron locks, among others, hence it took several hours to put it out,” said James.

BCC Fire Brigade senior fire officer (operations) Prescort Sailasi said it was difficult to put out the fire within a short time because movement in the warehouse was restricted

He also said the first two officers who entered the building came out before making any impact as air in their breathing apparatus was finished.

Blantyre Police Station officer-in-charge Ellobium Banda, who was at the scene of the accident together with some of his officers, said the cause of the fire had not yet been established as investigations were yet to be completed. n