Last weekend, a ravaging fire gutted a Bible school in Malamulele, leaving damage estimated at about R2 million in its wake. The Harvesters Theological Seminary at Xithlelani in Malamulele burnt down on Sunday afternoon. The consuming fire left scores of theology students, Grade 12 learners and youths from around Malamulele, who utilised the building for various purposes, in a state of confusion.
The college trains pastors from churches around the area and also serves as an enrichment centre for Grade 12 pupils who are improving their results. It is also a camping centre for the youth.
The fire, which is believed to have started in an unused kitchen of the college, was so severe that the whole structure was engulfed in flames within a short space of time. The billowing smoke could be seen many kilometres away.
At this stage, the cause of the fire has not been established, but an electrical fault is suspected to have started the conflagration. The scene looked like a war zone hit by a bomb, with twisted corrugated iron bars, burnt thatch grass and scattered items that were removed from the building.
Church pastor and principal of the college Pastor Dennis Soares said he was in church when he received a call informing him about the fire at the college. "I had to rush and leave the service before it could end and went straight to the college. What I saw there was disheartening - our college being reduced to nothing was the most painful experience."
He said that the police and firefighters were already at the scene, trying to douse the flames, but they ran out of water. "We had to watch helplessly as the mighty flames consumed our school. This is a big loss, not only for the theology students, but the community as a whole."
Soares added that they were still baffled as to what could have caused the fire, but said he strongly believed it had been an electrical fault. He further indicated that the college, which opened its doors in 1991, cost a lot of money to build and that it would be a mammoth task to rebuild it. "As a non-profit institution, we do not know how we will overcome this. We will soon meet with the board and seek ways on how we can move forward," he said.
A member of the college board, Ms Sophie Chabalala, described the loss as a blow to the whole community. "We had a library here with many books, but thanks to the Lord we managed to rescue most of the books."
Malamulele police spokesperson W/O Alson Mapindani said that the fire had not been reported to the police.