Chinese lose billions in gutted stores

By Eddie Ssejjoba & Nicholas Wassajja      

Merchandise estimated in billions of money was Friday night reduced to ashes when fire gutted about six warehouses belonging to Chinese shoe dealers.

Police fire fighters arrived at the Brothers Investment premises in Bulange near Prof. Apollo Nsibambi's residence at about 8.30pm, one hour and 15 minutes after fire broke out and battled with the flames throughout the night.

By 1.00pm Saturday, police fire brigade personnel were still at the scene trying to put out flames as workers sifted through the ashes and remains looking for any items that could have survived the inferno.

Police fire brigade battled the flames through the night. PHOTO/Eddy Ssejoba

Tommy Lee Zing Yi, the owner of the place was reported to be away on a business trip to Mombasa but his workers said fire could have been as a result of power failure.

Lee owns a big shoe shop along William Street and is said to be the biggest supplier of China shoes in Kampala and an agent of the Baochang Shoe Company in China.

Workers said Lee owns the Big Brothers Investment where he had items in three stores, each housing containers of newly imported shoes and he offloads about four containers every week.

Over 20 containers of shoes alone were lost, but other items had been stored in the suitcase factory and other stores.

One of the employees looks on in disbelief after fire gutted the stores. PHOTO/Eddy Ssejoba

The place also had a suitcase assembling factory which was also completely burnt and new bags and materials destroyed.

Nearby residents complained that smoke entered their houses and almost suffocated especially children and is feared it could have some healthy after effects.   

Robert Omara, the officer in charge Lungujja police post said they received information at about 8.00pm and dispatched 15 fire trucks but work was slowed by lack of access routes to some inner houses.

He said the place had one access route, which had one way and therefore not more than one truck could be engaged to stop the fire.

"Fire started from the extreme end of the warehouse, which was narrow and we could not access it with more than one truck. We would have managed to save more things," he said, adding that the police managed to control the fire from spreading to neighboring places.

15 fire trucks were deployed to put out the raging flames. PHOTO/Eddy Ssejoba

Swaibu Ssenoga, a store manager said they had a power problem and some electricians tried to fix the fault the previous evening but the work was not completed.

He explained that the electrician had asked the people around not to switch power back until he returned the next day but some workers did not heed his advice.

"Smoke started coming from one of the stores and soon it spread to other places," he said.

Police and private security personnel were deployed to keep residents from taking advantage of the chaos to loot.