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Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The fire which gutted vitafoam mattress factory in Njeru Municipality Buikwe district on Monday morning ruined the main mattress production departments at the plant.
Although police and the factory management have not yet ascertained the cost of damages caused by the fire, a store with about 10, 000 pieces of mattresses, cushions, raw materials and equipment was razed to ash. The fire which started at around 9 a.m., lasted about four hours.
It is alleged that the factory had just procured new equipment. Brian Kirumira, one of the workers says the fire started with a spark in the power room, at a time when the rest of the staff were waiting for the machine operator to connect them.
Njeru Police Commander Hilary Mukiza says the damage was mainly on physical properties and that there were no fatalities recorded in the fire. All staff were safely evacuated as soon as the fire started. The Vitafoam Factory Manager Satish Palmer says the loss is unimaginable.
Brigadier Peter Omola the Commandant of Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability Centre at Gadaffi Barracks in Jinja, advises the factory fire response teams to ensure serious monitoring of machines and electric power centres to avoid such outbreaks.
Omola adds that in one year within Busoga region they have responded to two other fatal fire outbreaks at Nile Agro-industries and Mayuge sugar factory. He attributes the outbreaks to poor management of electric power centres at the factories.
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