A raging fire razed a warehouse belonging to a well-known businessman, causing millions of rands of damage. The fire, which kept local fire-fighters busy for the best part of the night and the following morning, happened on Thursday last week.

The fire broke out at a business site just across the road from the old UIF building in Thohoyandou. Firefighters from the Ramushwana Fire station, led by the community services manager at Vhembe, Mr Alex Nemakonde, managed to get the fire under control, stopping it from spreading to other buildings and averting what could have been a fire bath.

An electrical fault is suspected to have caused the fire.

Eyewitnesses said the fire started at about seven in the evening. A man, who identified himself as Mashudu Masia, said he was on his way home from the shopping centre when he heard some sounds, followed by sparks of fire. He said he stopped there to see what was actually happening, only to find that a fire had started to burn from the inside of the building.

He said some people who had also arrived there called the fire services, who responded quickly. When Mirror arrived at the scene, firefighters were still busy struggling to douse the fire on the roof. It was hard to reach where the real fire was, however, as the doors of the building were still locked and the owner was not there.