Firefighters contain a fire at Entebbe Airport fuel firm

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Fire on Tuesday broke out at the two jet fuel tanks at Entebbe International Airport. The incident happened after 4 pm.

Fred Bamwesige, the Acting Director-General Uganda Civil Aviation Authority-UCAA says the safety, security team and firefighters were dispatched to stop the fire from spreading to other jet fuel tanks.

According to Bamwesige, the extent of what has been damaged and the cause of the fire are yet to be determined.

The jet fuel tanks are less than 50 metres from the passenger terminal and at least 60 metres from the airside. As a result, such an incident can disrupt operations such as the movement of both passengers and aircraft in and out of the airport.

The airport currently has two jet fuel tanks and a hydrant. However, due to safety and security concerns, UCAA has set up four fuel tanks and a hydrant at least a kilometre away from the airside.

The new site for the fuel tanks is near Lake Victoria shores. The tanks store 10 million litres of fuel.

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