By On Monday, a fire in Kampala’s Makerere-Kavule neighborhood destroyed furniture stores valued at millions of shillings.
As property owners attempted to save their belongings from the blazing flames of the fire, sights of people running with buckets of water, others dragging chairs, and anyone else they could get their hands on flooded the scene.
Many of the traders had taken out loans, so all they could do was watch as the fire destroyed every last scrap of stuff, they had invested in.
By the time the police fire brigade and rescue services arrived on the site, a significant amount of damage had already been done. They attempted to put out the fire.
Tradesman Bukenya Frank misplaced all eight of his sewing machines.
“This fire started after one of our colleagues was welding and the sparks caught part of the mattresses used in making chairs,” Bukenya stated.
Abdul-Noor, who runs a store in a nearby building, lends credibility to his story.
“It only took five minutes for the fire to spread… that man was warned not to do welding but he ignored the warning.”
Bukenya continued, “I have not saved anything, I have lost everything, and it’s not just me”.
To contain the fire that had spread to the nearby structure, police deployed more than 13 tracks.
Investigations concerning the fire have begun, according to Patrick Onyango, the metropolitan spokesperson for Kampala.
“A team involving forensics, national building review board, and others have been formed to help in the investigation,” Onyango said.
