The police have expressed concern over infrastructure erected by a section of some individuals without putting into consideration the right of way, which makes it difficult for fire extinguishing experts to get access during times of emergency or fire outbreak.

ACP Kituuma Rusoke, the Uganda police spokesperson, advised the public to plan for access to all buildings in order to ease rescue during fire outbreaks that occur.

Rusoke, while at Naguru police headquarters on Monday, September 9, 2024, put light to the public during a police weekly report.

Poorly planned access to some buildings has been evidenced from an incident that took place on December 11, 2023, at City House, a business building that also houses DP offices in Kampala, where people, including traders, were cited trying to jump through windows.

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The police added that their fire brigade team is set to curtail all fire outbreaks in the country; however, the public has not been mindful when constructing buildings with access.

“Police fire brigade teams have always gotten a challenge whenever there is a fire outbreak in buildings that have no access or close access by other sides of buildings, which sometimes leads to loss of property, which police condemn,’’ Rusoke said.

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The police further noted that some of the buildings are not equipped with fire extinguishers that act as first mitigaters in case of a fire outbreak to minimize the speed at which fire catches a building as the fire brigade reaches the scene, adding that there are those who install fire extinguishers in buildings without equipping their staff with knowledge on the usage.

The government has equipped the Uganda Police with enough firefighting equipment to ensure efficient firefights by curtailing loss of lives and property in the country.