HARARE – A fire broke out in the basement of the Harare Police Station early Sunday, threatening critical evidence for criminal trials contained in one of the rooms.
The fire was reported at around 1AM but responding fire fighters from the Harare Fire Brigade arrived with no water, a source said. The absence of fire hydrants at the station forced police to call for assistance from the Air Force of Zimbabwe which sent its own fire fighters with water tankers, ZimLive was told.
National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said: “The ZRP reports an unfortunate incident where there was a fire starting from around midnight where some rooms at the Harare Central complex which houses several police sections including the office of the officer commanding the province, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and others was engulfed by flames.
“We’re now conducting investigations with a view of finding out what actually transpired. We’re still assessing the amount of damage which was caused by the fire. We’re also trying to check what was contained in some of the rooms which were burnt. We will issue a detailed statement in due course.”
A law enforcement source said: “The fire was concentrated in CID Stores where there is an exhibits room. They keep mainly recovered stolen property, everything from cash to gas tanks.”
Cash amounting to US$39,000 was recently booked into the exhibit room after police arrested a suspect, the source added, suggesting a possible criminal motive.
The station had reportedly been operating on generator power since Thursday due to an electric fault.
