KAMPALA – Fire on Thursday, 28 January 2021 gutted Royal Foam Mattress factory in Kyambogo, a Kampala suburb, for the third time in three years, destroying property worth millions of shillings.
A big cloud of smoke could be seen billowing from the factory on Thursday morning. It was still unclear whether there any causalities. A team of officers from the Police Fire and Rescue Directorate teamed up with residents and employees of the factory to put out the fire. Isma Ssematimba, an employee at the factory, says police efforts to extinguish the fire are being hampered by lack of access roads for emergencies.
The factory is located in a manufacturing hub, which is home to dozens of industrial units with potentially inflammable liquids. Innocent Kakooza, a resident says the neighbouring factories and warehouses are at the same risk.
“Today’s incidents requires the relevant authorities to conduct deep investigations into the increasing cases of fire at this factory otherwise this problem will soon spread to other factories in the neighbourhood,” said Kakooza.
This is the third time in less than three years that fire is being reported at Royal foam mattress factory. In 2019, the two serious fire outbreaks destroyed properties and injured several workers. At the time police said the fire was started by a wielder at the factory.
However, some employees suspect that the fire started from the chemicals used in the manufacture of mattresses before it spread through the factory premises.
