Property lost in Sheema night fire

By Abraham Muganzi

A fire at Itendero trading centre has left property worth millions of shillings destroyed in Sheema district.

This happened in Kabwohe/Itendero town council Wednesday night.

The actual cause of the fire is not known, but according to the acting DPC Sheema district Charles Muhereza, it could have started in a structure used as a kitchen.

“We suspect that the fire started from the makeshift structure which was being used as a cooking place behind the video hall,” he said.

“But we shall open a general inquiry file (GIF) in order to get to the root cause of the fire.”

For several hours, firefighters from Bushenyi regional fire station battled the inferno helped by local volunteers.

The blaze is reported to have started at around 3.30am and spread through three structures.

A makeshift video hall, salon, rental houses and a restaurant were destroyed as owners of the property scrambled to salvage some of their stuff.

Others reportedly took advantage of the commotion to loot property, only to be intercepted by police who deployed at the scene.

One eyewitness told of what he had seen.

“I saw fire coming through the makeshift restaurant and when I tried to check, I found that fire was already burning at a high speed and I had to make an alarm,” said resident Musinguzi.

“It attracted other occupants and we immediately started rescuing our property and also started to pour water on the flames.”

As investigations into the blaze continue, Greater Bushenyi regional fire officer Warren Muftundinda blamed the fire on the negligence of the owner of the restaurant behind the video hall, whom he said left an electrical coil unattended to – which later burnt, resulting into the fire.

He also warned residents against leaving electrical appliances in operation unattended to or else risk losing millions in unnecessary fires.

George Tumwebaze, the LC3 chairperson Kabwohe/Itendero town council, said the incident was an eyeopener to all town residents and that his office will put stringent measures to prevent this from happening again.

“We are going to force all property owners in the town to monitor how their tenants use their property and put guidelines to protect such fires,” he said.

The fire comes six months after another fire gutted a makeshift market in the nearby Kabwohe trading center.