Rundu
A fire damaged two shops at the new mallin Rundu. The mall, which is situated next to Eugene Kakukuru Road, is still under construction. The two shops that caught fire shortly after 14h00 on Sunday afternoon were among the
first few shops at the mall to open, as part of the first phase and have been open to the public for less than a month.
Even though only the shops of Sport Scene and Total Sports were affected by the blaze, all shops have been closed due to ongoing investigations. Rundu Town Council’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to the scene on
Sunday and struggled to contain the blaze, which was rumoured to be an electrical fire. “At the moment we don’t know what caused the fire. As we speak, the investigators are on site to investigate,” said Gee Prinsloo, the
manager of Rundu shopping mall.
Prinsloo confirmed that the fire only damaged Sport Scene and Total Sports, while a third shop suffered water damage. “We’re busy doing inspections and then we are going to try opening the mall to the public later in the afternoon, or perhaps tomorrow morning. We’re just trying to make sure that everything is under control, as safety is our priority,” Prinsloo said.
It took almost three hours for firefighters to bring the blaze under control on Sunday. Construction of the new mall began in February. It is being built in two phases, with phase one comprising the centre’s anchor tenant, Shoprite. Another 5 000 square metres are to be taken up by Clicks (still to open), Pep Home, Checkers Liquor (still to open), while KFC, John Craig and Street House are among the new shops expected to open soon.