Although the fire destroyed only the Bata shop on the building, the smoke from the fire covered all the surfaces on all the two floors of the storied building with soot making it impossible for most businesses to open for normal operation because the merchandise, furniture, floors, walls and ceilings are all dirtied by the soot.
Business at Capital Shoppers, a commercial center in Ntinda, Kampala is yet to return to normal following a fire that destroyed a part of the building on Sunday night.
Although the fire destroyed only the Bata shop on the building, the smoke from the fire covered all the surfaces on all the two floors of the storied building with soot making it impossible for most businesses to open for normal operation because the merchandise, furniture, floors, walls and ceilings are all dirtied by the soot.
The burnt Bata shop located on the ground floor remains sealed off as police continue to investigate the cause of the fire.
Meanwhile, other businesses in the building have spent the last several hours cleaning the soot from that smoke. In some shops, the proprietors are mopping the floor and cleaning their commodities while others have still remained closed.
When URN visited the facility this afternoon, several clients who turned up access various services had been reduced to tourists, walking around the facility to witness the effect of the fire on the businesses because none of the shops apart from Capital Shoppers super market was functioning.
At dfcu bank located on the first floor, people were busy washing off the soot from the surfaces of chairs, tables, walls and ceiling. Centenary bank branch, also located on the first floor was open for business but said they were only taking deposits and not allowing cash withdrawal.
A restaurant and bar located on the second floor has also not opened for business with the patrons busy enged in cleaning the sooty surfaces.
Gilbert Oyema, a customer service official at Capital Shoppers however, told URN that they were least affected. He explained that they opened for business in the morning after cleaning the soot from the smoke and embarked on normal business.
//Cue in: “Here, the super market…
Cue out: “…is going normal.”//
Joseph Mugisa, the Police Chief of Fire officer, told URN that the detectives probing the cause of the fire have made good progress and would have the report ready in a week’s time.
