Sombre scenes, murmuring crowds, warm embraces, and teary eyes. This was the aftermath of a raging fire that broke out in downtown Bloemfontein earlier this week. Eyewitnesses and shop owners stood behind the police lines in Fichardt Street and helplessly watched how the Manguang Fire Department attempted to further cool down the building that was up in flames on Monday 5 December 2022.
Bloemfontein Courant visited the scene the day after the fire started to get an idea of the overall impact it had, as well as how the shop owners will deal with the aftermath of the tragedy. Upon arrival at China City, bystanders and shop owners were interacting with each other. Amongst the conversations, words and embraces of comfort were expressed between them.
Spotting a shop owner was not hard, as their facial expressions while watching the firefighters and crime scene investigators scurry around to finally extinguish the fire, said it all. One of the shop owners told the publication that speaking about the incident was too stressful and she is so tired of constantly having to explain what she witnessed.
Another said at that point in time there is nothing they could do as their business had to close indefinitely.
Members of the South African Red Cross Society were also on the scene to assist those who were affected. Claudia Mangwegape said disaster management is one of the Red Cross’ core programmes.
“We have a programme that is called Restoring Family Links and we are currently dealing with foreign nationals. Most of them have lost everything, which includes items that were worth a lot. We are availing services whereby they can engage some of their relatives to inform them that they are safe. We are also conducting an assessment to see how many stores have been affected and we will compile a report,” she said.
The property manager from the Michael Family Trust, who was also on the scene, said the Samsons Building is one of the properties that he manages. He said not being present to assist where he could would not be right. “We are waiting for an update from the Fire Department’s forensic team to assess the extent of the damage caused to the building.”
At around 11:00 on Tuesday, the Divisional Officer of the Mangaung Fire and Rescue Department, Braam van Zyl, confirmed to Bloemfontein Courant that they were still inside the building. “The fire has been extinguished, but the building is still very hot and unstable – it is not safe,” he said.
He further added that once the forensic investigation has been completed the state of the building can be assessed. “The building suffered immense damage. On the ground floor, 18 stores were damaged and on the second floor, storage units were also destroyed by the fire,” Van Zyl concluded.
Justine Fortuin & Gypseenia Lion
