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Police probe fire outbreak at paint factory in Kampala suburb
Fire on Wednesday broke out at Royal Paint factory in Makindye, a Kampala suburb. PHOTOS/ RACHEL MABALA
Police in Kampala are investigating the cause of a fire that on Wednesday broke out at Royal Paint factory in Makindye, a Kampala suburb.
The Deputy Director Fire Safety and Emergency Services, Mr Hassan Kyanda told this reporter that his team was still trying to establish the cause of the Wednesday morning fire that left property worth millions of shillings destroyed.
He, however, faulted the owner of the factory for setting up such a business in a residential area which he said puts the entire neighborhood at risk.
Police fire team seen trying to put out the fire that gutted Royal Paint factory in Makindye on May 26, 2021. PHOTOS/ RACHEL MABALA
“This paint factory caught fire this morning but all I want to assure the people now is that there’s no cause for alarm. It’s under control. People should also be vigilant about their neighborhoods. For instance, how do you set up a factory in a residential area! This is very risky to the neighborhood. If the neighbors had reported to us (police) earlier, we would have come and inspected the factory for safety and perhaps advised him to relocate it,” he said.
“Factories are not supposed to be set up everywhere you find. There are designated areas for such businesses,” Kyanda said added.
Recent incidents
The incident comes just days after fire burnt Grace House, one of the girls’ dormitory at King’s College Budo in the neighbouring district of Wakiso.
The fire is said to have started while students were already in class for morning prep.
Mr Eddie Ssewaje, the LC I chairperson of Nagalabi village and one of the first responders at the scene, said the fire started from the two-storied dormitory which hosted senior one and three students at around 6:30 am.
Two weeks before that, Madhivani ware houses on 5th Street, Industrial area, Kampala caught fire which destroyed property worth billions of shillings.
Mr Bildard Baguma, the executive director Joint Medical Stores (JMS) which was also affected by the fire then told journalists that about Shs7 billion worth of equipment and medicines was lost in the fire.
However, there have been several of such fires before but police reports are rarely or never made public after investigations promising investigations.
