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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The police have confirmed the death of one person after a fire gutted City House on Luwum Street.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire started at 9:15 am in the basement, which houses California Bar and other restaurants. The fire then spread to the third floor, where the Democratic Party-DP offices are located.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Luke Owoyesgyire, said that the police fire team recovered the body of an unidentified person from the debris.
City House located in the central business district houses several restaurants, stationery, textile shops, and office outlets.
The fire outbreak paralyzed businesses on Luwum and William streets. Occupants of Church House, DTL Plaza, Maria’s Galleria, and Namaganda Plaza vacated their shops in fear that the fire could spread to the buildings.
The police also cordoned off City Square, Nakasero, Luwum, Dastur, and William Street roads, paralyzing traffic.
Some of the affected traders said they had lost millions in the fire.
Geoffrey Okobo, the Acting Operations Officer from the Fire and Rescue Services, said that preliminary findings indicate that the fire resulted from the heat radiation caused by gas cylinders in one of the restaurants that were leaking.
“In their kitchen section, there were cylinders, because of the heat radiation, the gas was leaking and caught fire. By the time we arrived, the fire had grown wild to the rooftop, which became more difficult for us to contain. But we had enough manpower that we finally managed it,” Okabe said.
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