Millions lost in Lira factory fire

Police on Monday struggled to extinguish a fire that tore through Rolex Cooking Oil factory, Lira City in northern Uganda, and destroyed property worth millions of shillings. 
The fire broke out at the factory located in Ipito aweno- Ipito gweno Cell, Ojwina B Ward in Lira City West Division at around 2am. 
“Officers from the North Kyoga Fire Prevention and Rescue Services were called to the scene at around 2am in the wee hours of Monday but were overwhelmed by the fire, prompting them to call for reinforcement from our partners: Mukwano Group of Companies and Mt Meru Millers, who all responded immediately,” the North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Jimmy Okema, confirmed.  
“The fire was contained and the situation controlled. However, upon doing an assessment together with the management, we discovered that about 70 tonnes of soybean, 50 tonnes of sunflower and 30 tonnes of cakes were severely burnt,”  he said. 
Police said the fire also destroyed four oil milling machines and 120 jerricans of cooking oil. 
“The fire and rescue team managed to save some machines and stop the fire from spreading to the neighbouring factories. The cause of the fire is not yet established but preliminary findings point to a short circuit. Investigations are underway,” the police spokesperson said.