Store in CBD destroyed in inferno
Monday morning turned sour for JetMart staff and customers when the store was engulfed in a blazing inferno. Situated on the corner of Bester and Paul Kruger streets in the CBD, it has been reduced to nothing but ashes.
MBOMBELA – Monday morning turned sour for JetMart staff and customers when the store was engulfed in a blazing inferno. Situated on the corner of Bester and Paul Kruger streets in the CBD, it has been reduced to nothing but ashes.
This is the second unfortunate ordeal the Jet Mart family in the Lowveld had to live through in three months. The branch suffered the same fate as its KaMaqhekeza counterpart about two months ago.
Mr Jobe Sibambo of Mbomela disaster management said they were unable to comment on the incident as it was still being investigated. “Once the investigations are finalised, we will confirm the cause of the fire,” Sibambo said.
Unconfirmed speculation on the ground suggests that the fire, which almost leapt to adjacent stores, was caused by a faulty cable, when somebody plugged in an empty kettle. The fire seemed to intensify and the number of firemen on the scene soon were in need of more assistance.
This was even more unfortunate as Mbombela Municipality Community Services, (security, firefighters and traffic officers) had embarked on a strike. Mr Monareng Maxi, one of the bystanders said the extent of the fire could’ve been avoided had the firefighters received the help they needed from their colleagues.
“This started off as a fire that could be managed, but people were busy striking and forgot their mandate in the process. It makes no sense at all that they did not even consider the dangers posed to the filling station next to the store,” he further pointed out.
Edcon weighed in on the matter and has confirmed they intended to get the store back on its feet soon. “Edcon can confirm that the JetMart store in Mbombela has been destroyed by the fire.
Thankfully, none of the employees or customers were injured. “The intention is to make this store operational again as quickly as possible,” said Ms Julian Gwillim of Edcon.
However, Edcon confirmed they did not know the costs of damage yet. “We will have to wait for the investigation to be concluded,” added Gwillim. The police have confirmed that there were no casualties.
“Nobody was injured, and an inquiry has been opened regarding the incident,” said Col Leonard Hlathi, the provincial police spokesperson.
