26 Apr 2018

The furniture manufacturing and retail outlet Chobe Design Warehouse was on April 25 gutted by fire at around 5 pm.

The shop which is located along the New Lobatse Road was burnt to ashes after what is suspected to have been a fire that started in the storage rooms.

Naledi Police Station Commander Superintendent Oagile Bolane could not disclose the cause of the fire.

“The cause of the fire is still unknown at the moment as investigation are still under way to determine what happened,” he said.

He however confirmed that no one was injured as most of the workers had departed, leaving only five employees inside who were the ones that noticed the fire and reported it immediately

The police chief confirmed that all property in the store was destroyed including the building itself.

“We were worried that neighbouring BP Filling Station and other stores such as John Doore would catch fire too as the store housed some highly flammable property,” he said.

When asked what precautions retail stores must take to avoid fires ,the station commander said retail owners must have serviced fire hydrants readily available in their shops and to also be complaint to fire procedures as well as clear way for fire escape emergencies.

The company opened its doors for business 23 years ago in Gaborone and later expanded its services to Francistown. ENDS