HE SAVED HIS WIFE AND FOUR CHILDREN… THEN RAN BACK INTO THE INFERNO. HE NEVER CAME OUT

Heartbreaking final act of courage as Mutare nurse Gift Chimbidzayi perishes after returning to his burning home to check for anyone left behind. Now, furious residents are demanding answers over an alleged two-hour delay by firefighters.

MUTARE — He had rescued his wife. He had got his four children out alive. His family was safe.

But Gift Chimbidzayi could not bring himself to leave without checking whether someone else was still trapped inside.
So, as flames devoured his home in St Joseph’s Park, Chikanga Phase Three, the St Joseph’s Hospital nurse turned around and ran straight back into the inferno.
It was a decision that would cost him his life.

The fire broke out at around 1am on Wednesday, turning an ordinary night into a family nightmare. As the blaze tore through the house, the roof reportedly collapsed, trapping Chimbidzayi inside.

He never made it out.

Affectionately known in the community as Sekuru, Chimbidzayi had managed to get his wife and four children to safety before making the desperate return into the burning building.

In the end, the man who had helped save his family became the fire’s final victim.
Manicaland Acting Police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the tragedy, saying police officers were still at the scene gathering details.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

But the tragedy has now opened another painful chapter, with residents raising serious questions over the response of the Mutare City Council fire brigade.

Residents allege that firefighters arrived approximately two hours after the blaze broke out, while claims of inadequate water supplies have further fuelled anger over the emergency response.

Neighbours reportedly battled the flames themselves in a desperate attempt to contain the inferno and prevent it from spreading.

The allegations have raised uncomfortable questions about the city’s emergency preparedness and the resources available to respond to life-threatening fires.
For the Chimbidzayi family, however, the loss is immeasurable.

A husband is gone. Four children have lost their father. A community has lost a man it affectionately called Sekuru. He went back into the flames because he feared someone might still be inside.

He got his family out. But he never made it home.