Fire destroys city bar

An estimated Rwf18 million worth of property was lost, Monday night, when fire gutted a bar and restaurant near Alfa Palace Hotel on Sonatubes-Remera road. The fire at New Bandal Bar and Restaurant started shortly after 4am, Police said.Urbain Mwiseneza, the spokesperson of Police in Kigali, said Fire Brigade arrived at the scene shortly after it started and put out the fire. “We suspect the fire was caused by a short circuit from a refrigerator, but an investigation is ongoing to establish the exact cause of the fire,” Mwiseneza said. Clarisse Munezero, who works at the bar, said he was returning from the washrooms when he found fire had engulfed the refrigerator. He said the fire then spread to other appliances. Jean Pierre Sibomana, the proprietor of the bar, said he lost four fridges, five TV sets, and beverages, among other property. “It is still too early to ascertain how much was lost but it is about Rwf18 million. My business had no insurance, and we tried to put out the fire using the fire extinguisher but we failed,” he said. “It’s a great loss since I didn’t have any insurance for my house,” Innocent Harindintwari, the owner of the building that houses the bar, said. Police said most of the recent fire outbreaks were either caused by substandard cables or poor electrical installation.On Monday, fire razed buildings at the Ruhango-based Ecole des Sciences de Byimana, barely a month after a dormitory for male students was gutted in late in April.In November last year, Cadillac nightclub in Kimihurura, a suburb of Kigali City, was left in ashes after a fire broke out and destroyed the club.Mwiseneza advised people to ensure proper electrical installation, not to buy fake electrical materials and equip their premises with fire fighting gadgets.

National

Fire destroys city bar