Fire guts Dandaro Inn

By Kundai Marunya

Property worth thousands of dollars was destroyed when fire gutted popular night club Dandaro Inn early yesterday morning. The cause of the fire is not known yet.

Officials at the club said they lost property worth thousands of dollars, but were still to ascertain the actual value of the loss by yesterday afternoon.

Located in the Zimbabwe Agriculture Society (ZAS) grounds, the property is said to have gone ablaze around 1am.

When our crew visited the place hours after the fire, a stench of burning wood of the once uniquely thatched hub hung in the air. Unrecoverable fridges, speakers, furniture and even broken beer bottles lay around.

Dandaro Inn proprietor Partson Chimbodza aka Chipaz said the Fire Brigade did not arrive in time to take out the fire.

“I’m just glad that no one was killed or injured because property can be replaced. The problem was the Fire Brigade was not answering calls that ZAS security had to go to their offices physically. It being a thatch, by the time they arrived it was too late,” he said.

Chipaz identified his destroyed stock, fridges, pool tables, televisions, and PA system but had not yet worked out their total value.

“My insurance expired so I’m checking with my landlord to see if the building was covered by insurance,” he said.

Though his spirits were dampened Chipaz vowed to soldier on.

“It’s a huge setback but I plan to reopen soon. I have employees with families to feed so I can’t just quit,” he added.

Dandaro Inn is one of the popular joints synonymous with live music. It has hosted many popular local artists among them Jah Prayzah, Sulumani Chimbetu, Alick Macheso and Peter Moyo. The Herald