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For more than 21 hours, Police Fire and Rescue Services and aviation firefighters battled the huge flames at the DAS Handling Agency and the National Medical Stores (NMS) warehouses just meters away from the Entebbe International Airport.    

According to reports, the fire was active from September 12, 2023, at around 3:00 pm to the following day.

By the time this article was written, the joint fire rescue services were still struggling to put out the fires in various parts of the warehouses at around 01:30 p.m.

Godfrey Okobo, the assistant operation officer of fire rescue services, who is in charge of the team providing rescue services on the ground, informed New Vision Online over the phone that they had been battling the fire for more than 21 hours.

“The fire is still visible, but we have put it out in many of the parts and where it is alleged to have started. We are unable to determine the true cause because we have not yet totally put it out,” he added.

He emphasized that because it had already consumed a very big area, scientific research was necessary to determine the cause of the fire.

“This fire started around 03:00 pm on September 12, and fire and rescue services were called in around 4:00 am. We are collaborating with the aviation firefighters and other firefighters from Entebbe. Little will be saved because it was a big magnitude,” Okobo said.

The nature of the warehouse and the contents, he said, was to blame for the rapid spread of the fire.

He stressed that millions of the items for DAS and NMS have been consumed, saying it is a big loss to the country.

Okobo stressed that some of the items lost were the mosquito nets for NMS which had been kept in the warehouse.

NMS/DAS speak out

NMS spokesperson Sheilla Nduhukire said a private warehouse they had rented in Entebbe for the storage of mosquito nets was also affected by the fire incident.

“NMS regrets to inform the public of a fire incident at one the private warehouses we had rented for storing mosquito nets in Entebbe,” she noted in a statement.

She noted that emergency fire services were promptly notified, and firefighters are working tirelessly to put out the flames.

Nduhukire stated that they are currently determining the scope of the fire's damage and collaborating closely with the appropriate authorities to look into the cause.

“NMS has already activated its business community plan to ensure an uninterrupted supply of mosquito nets to Uganda,” she added.



However, she stressed that mosquito nets were comprehensively insured to minimise any unexpected loss.

DAS managing director Marc Deleu in a statement said they are cooperating with the appropriate authorities to put out the fire and that there are ongoing inquiries into what caused the event.

“We would like to extend our appreciation to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, Uganda Police Fire Brigade, and UPDAF for the quick response extended when we notified them. DAS regrets to inform the general public of the fire incident that occurred at one of their buildings. It is important to note that the building is outside the airport,” he added.  

Airport operations not affected

When contacted, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson Vianney Luggya said the incident did not in any way affect the operations of the airport.

“This is because the building is located outside of the airport’s perimeter fence,” he said.

He added that DAS's facilities for storing things that have arrived in the country by air are located at the new cargo centre, which is in a different area from the structure that caught fire.

DAS is one of the ground handlers operating at the airport with offices adjacent to Protea Hotel, outside the airport's perimeter fence.

“So, anyone expecting consignments from abroad or planning to export produce should not worry. Similarly, passenger operations are ongoing smoothly and the situation is under control,” he added.

He further noted that police are already on the ground to know the real cause of the fire.

According to Hussein Mugabi, a market trader in Kitoro, the only thing they noticed was a massive smoke rising in the air close to the airport.

“Some of us initially believed the airport was on fire due to the amount of smoke. Later, we witnessed the Entebbe town fire department passing through. We discovered it was the DAS and NMS warehouse later,” he added