Fire guts Vita Foam mattress factory in Njeru

By Derick Kissa

By Denis Edema

Property worth billions of shillings has been destroyed in a fire that gutted Vita Foam mattress factory in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District on Monday.At around 9.30 am, workers saw a sudden fire from one section of the factory which later escalated to the entire factory.Mattresses, foam and other equipment have all been destroyed in the fire.Police and Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) fire brigade units responded promptly to put out the fire that had quickly spread to the entire building. They were also reinforced by some other private fire brigades.

One of the managers moves out after being hit by the debris from the building.
The cause of the fire is still unknown as Police start investigations.Fortunately, no fatalities or injuries have been recorded according to the Njeru District Police Commander (DPC), Mr Hilary Mukiza,”We got information about the fire at around 9:30 am and we responded as soon as possible to see that it does not spread to other places,” he said.Mr Sajjsh Varma, the manager of Vita Foam said they as of now cannot ascertain how much property has been destroyed.

Some of the workers comforting one another after seeing the fire destroying the factory.
“We cannot ascertain how much property has been destroyed because we are trying to first stop the fire. I want to assure you that no one has died in the factory,” he said.”We are going to take some time to get back on our feet but all workers will be given some money for upkeep as we restore the destroyed machinery,” Mr Varma added.