Joina City fire put under control

HARARE – There was a fire this morning around 06:45am at the Joina City Shopping Mall in the capital. Early reports had suggested ‘Joina City was on fire’ but management quickly assured customers it was a minor incident.

According to a statement issued by Joina City there was a fire in the basement of parking level 1 which was confined to the plant room that houses Spar’s refrigeration equipment.

“Our 24 hour security team which patrols the area noticed smoke coming out of the room and quickly alerted the security control centre. Our resident fire officers reacted swiftly by extinguishing the fire.

“We would like to thank the City of Harare who declared the building safe. We would like to assure our tenants and customers that our building has an efficient fire protection system and your safety remains a priority for us at all times,” Joina City said in the statement.

The complex has 72 retail shops and a 16-floor office tower. It has three levels of parking bays, with each one of them taking 200 vehicles which translates to 600 underground parking bays. It has four levels of retail shops, with each one housing approximately 72 shops.

The building took nearly 16 years to build and its co-owner Shingi Mutasa, says it’s now worth over $100 million.