Property worth millions lost in Lira factory fire

LIRA, UGANDA: Property worth millions of shillings were left destroyed to ashes after an abrupt fire gutted Rolex Cooking Oil factory, Lira City in northern Uganda on Monday.

The fire whose cause was yet to be established by press time is said to have broken out at around 2am at the factory located in Ipito aweno- Ipito gweno Cell, Ojwina B Ward in Lira City West Division.

North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Jimmy Okema, confirmed. the incident and said officers from the fire prevention department responded swiftly to the scene and managed to control the fire with further help from Mukwano and Mt Meru Millers partners.

“Officers from the North Kyoga Fire Prevention and Rescue Services were called to the scene at around 2 am in the wee hours of Monday but were overwhelmed by the fire, prompting them to call for reinforcement from our partners: Mukwano Group of Companies and Mt Meru Millers, who all responded immediately,” Mr Okema said.

“The fire was contained and the situation controlled. However, upon doing an assessment together with the management, we discovered that about 70 tonnes of soybean, 50 tonnes of sunflower and 30 tonnes of cakes were severely burnt,” he added.

“The fire and rescue team managed to save some machines and stop the fire from spreading to the neighbouring factories. The cause of the fire is not yet established but preliminary findings point to a short circuit. Investigations are underway,” the spokesperson concluded in a Monday police statement.