Hungry, hopeful residents eye burnt food after shop fire

Katutura residents gathered around the charred remains of the Woermann Brock shop in the Ombili area of Windhoek yesterday morning, hoping to recover what little food was not destroyed in a fire.

This followed on a fire that engulfed the supermarket late on Monday night, causing extensive damage before it was extinguished yesterday morning.

Among the hopeful residents was Jonathan Rooinasie (26), who stood with a group of locals, eyeing the burnt food in the supermarket.

The fire destroyed large parts of the store, leaving little more than blackened walls, damaged stock and a heavy smell of smoke hanging in the air.

“Can we please be given the opportunity to go into the shop and get the remaining food? They cannot throw the food away because we are dying of hunger,” Rooinasie said. “I have been standing here for more than four hours, hoping they give out the remaining food, or they let us inside,” he added.

For many in the area, the supermarket was more than just a place to buy groceries; it was a lifeline, providing essential goods.

City of Windhoek emergency management chief Raymond Kapia yesterday said: “Firefighting teams started with the fire engagement around midnight [on Monday] until [yesterday] morning.”

He further said: “The fire was successfully suppressed, however, all the contents within the building were destroyed.”

Kapia noted that the fire was burning for some time before the authorities were notified.

“There was an indication that the fire was burning for a long time before the fire brigade was actually notified,” Kapia said.

However, the fire brigade was able to prevent the fire from spreading to other sites, he added.

“So far, we could not determine the cause of the fire, and there were no injuries to the firefighters or other occupants. The building was not occupied at the time,” Kapia said.

The Namibian contacted the supermarket’s management, who refused to comment until investigations were complete.