A swift response by alert fire fighters from the Musina Fire Station saved the lives of desperate family members in Beitbridge town in Zimbabwe after their house caught fire on Sunday evening at Dulibadzimu suburb.

The fire incident occurred on Sunday, 26 August, at around 06:00, when fuel containers reportedly caught fire, following an electric spark. The family sell fuel from their house.

"One of the people staying in the house was ironing when an electrical spark developed, resulting in some fuel containers´ catching fire," said Miss Eunice Langalanga. She said: "We were busy watching a movie when, all of a sudden, fire erupted and the next minute everything was up in smoke, and neighbours and passers-by frantically tried to assist. Thankfully, the fire-fighters from Musina eventually came and extinguished the raging fire and we were eventually rescued. These people really did a good job and may I, through your paper, wish them blessings," Langalanga said.

However, while the victims had every reason to smile for being rescued from the inferno, their property worth thousands of rands was also destroyed in the inferno, including the roof, which effectively renders them homeless. The other burnt goods include beds, television sets, cupboards and DVD players.

Three people were seriously burnt and they were subsequently rushed to the local hospital. When Mirror arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, neighbours were assisting the family in clearing the debris.

The incident comes barely two weeks after another house in Dulibadzimu suburb was also gutted by fire when the owner was pouring fuel into a container under candlelight, following a power cut in the area.

However, fire fighters from Musina fire station arrived at the scene about 30 minutes later, when the victims were already severely burnt. They were taken to Beitbridge hospital, where they died shortly after being admitted.

Beitbridge town has no fire station and hence it relies on Musina, following a twinning agreement signed between the Beitbridge Rural District Council and the Musina Local Municipality under the auspices of the Trans-Limpopo Spatial Development Initiative, aimed at complementing each other.

Scores of Beitbridge residents are now capitalising on the shortage of fuel in Zimbabwe by selling the commodity from their houses. Most houses in Beitbridge have of late been turned into "filling stations" as both petrol and diesel are scare in that country. The fuel is imported from the neighbouring town of Musina.