Fire guts Pabbo
Mar 14, 2005
When the fire started on Saturday afternoon at Pabbo displaced persons’ camp, all that eight-year-old Patrick Acire could do was quickly grab whatever he could save.
By Opiyo Oloya in Gulu
When the fire started on Saturday afternoon at Pabbo displaced persons’ camp, all that eight-year-old Patrick Acire could do was quickly grab whatever he could save.
However, it was not long before the raging fire had engulfed his entire house, and the neighbour’s house and the house after that. Residents who tried to prevent the fire from spreading pushed down the roofs of three dozen other homes.
In less than an hour after it began, the fire had razed to the ground 120 homes.
In February, fires were reported in Lalogi camp, where 200 to 300 homes were lost and in Anaka, where at least 187 houses were burnt.
Fire was also reported at Awere camp in Pader district.
Richard Abwola, the secretary for food and accommodation at Pabbo, said fire incidents had increased.
Two recent fires destroyed part of the camp, leaving residents sleeping in roofless huts.
With 63,000 residents, the huts are congested with homes sitting side-by-side and the roofs often touching.
“Once the fire starts in one house, it quickly spreads to the adjacent homes,†Abwola said.
Most huts are thatched with the highly-flammable obiya grass, which often burns rapidly.
Houses with corrugated sheet roofs remained intact as the fire destroyed the grass-thatched ones.
“This problem cannot end so long as we have grass on the roofs,†said Eugenio Odoki, the vice-chairman of Pabbo.
The district disaster preparedness chairman, Charles Uma, suggested placing low-gauge corrugated sheets on houses.
But with rain expected soon, homeless residents said the quick solution would be to cover the roofless huts with grass. Further up the hills, there was the ever-present danger of being caught by marauding LRA rebels.
Six hunters who went up the hills a week ago disappeared and were presumably captured or killed by the rebels.
Patrick, a primary two pupil at Olinga Primary School, said the fire burnt his books and scholastic materials.
Ends
When the fire started on Saturday afternoon at Pabbo displaced persons’ camp, all that eight-year-old Patrick Acire could do was quickly grab whatever he could save.
However, it was not long before the raging fire had engulfed his entire house, and the neighbour’s house and the house after that. Residents who tried to prevent the fire from spreading pushed down the roofs of three dozen other homes.
In less than an hour after it began, the fire had razed to the ground 120 homes.
In February, fires were reported in Lalogi camp, where 200 to 300 homes were lost and in Anaka, where at least 187 houses were burnt.
Fire was also reported at Awere camp in Pader district.
Richard Abwola, the secretary for food and accommodation at Pabbo, said fire incidents had increased.
Two recent fires destroyed part of the camp, leaving residents sleeping in roofless huts.
With 63,000 residents, the huts are congested with homes sitting side-by-side and the roofs often touching.
“Once the fire starts in one house, it quickly spreads to the adjacent homes,†Abwola said.
Most huts are thatched with the highly-flammable obiya grass, which often burns rapidly.
Houses with corrugated sheet roofs remained intact as the fire destroyed the grass-thatched ones.
“This problem cannot end so long as we have grass on the roofs,†said Eugenio Odoki, the vice-chairman of Pabbo.
The district disaster preparedness chairman, Charles Uma, suggested placing low-gauge corrugated sheets on houses.
But with rain expected soon, homeless residents said the quick solution would be to cover the roofless huts with grass. Further up the hills, there was the ever-present danger of being caught by marauding LRA rebels.
Six hunters who went up the hills a week ago disappeared and were presumably captured or killed by the rebels.
Patrick, a primary two pupil at Olinga Primary School, said the fire burnt his books and scholastic materials.
Ends