KANUNGU, UGANDA – Panic and grief have engulfed Kihiihi Town Council after a fierce fire ripped through a section of the popular Tawakkal Restaurant along Barageine Street in the early hours of today, leaving residents counting losses and questioning the adequacy of the emergency response.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The blaze, which reportedly started around 2:00 a.m., caused extensive damage to the eatery, a well-known landmark in the area. While an official investigation is yet to be launched, eyewitnesses and local sources suggest the fire may have originated from the restaurant’s kitchen.
Our reporter at the scene found a somber atmosphere as residents and nearby business owners sifted through the debris and recounted the frantic overnight battle to salvage what they could.
“We noticed smoke and flames coming from the kitchen area. We quickly alerted our neighbors and started removing items from nearby shops and houses to prevent further loss,” recounted one resident who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Residents expressed frustration that local leaders were unable to deploy a fire truck in time, forcing the community to anxiously wait for the fire brigade to arrive from Rukungiri District, which is located several kilometers away.
Compounding the problem, community members complained that public water taps in the vicinity were not opened promptly, severely limiting access to water that could have been used to douse the flames before they spiraled out of control.
Despite the challenges, a determined group of residents worked together to rescue property and attempted to extinguish the fire using water fetched from nearby public taps.
The community’s courageous efforts, however, were not enough to stop the blaze, which ultimately destroyed the kitchen and a significant portion of the structure.
Fortunately, no fatalities were reported, though the blaze left only parts of the building standing amidst substantial property damage and rising smoke.
Authorities are expected to launch investigations to determine the cause of the fire and assess the losses, as a shaken community calls for improved emergency preparedness in the town.
