Fire has destroyed a house and household items worth millions at Chintheche in Nkhatabay district.
Nkhata-Bay police station Ignatius Esau said the inferno damaged the house of Teleza Manda, 27, on September 5.
According to Esau, Manda was cooking using a hot plate inside her house which is located near Chintheche trading centre but after cooking, she forgot to switch off the hot plate and went out to fetch some firewood in a nearby bush.
It was when she was in the bush that her neighbour informed her that her house was up in flames.
“They both rushed to the scene and efforts to put out the fire as well as rescue household property proved futile since by then, the fire had already done the damage,” said Esau.
Manda told police that property worth K2.7 million was lost in the inferno.
Meanwhile, police have advised people to make sure that they switch off any electrical appliance whenever not in use so that such accidents should be avoided.
