House catches fire at “Mutanga Nord”

Nothing has been saved from the burning house

Anselme Wakana, the owner of the house says it was around midday on 8 June when the fire broke out in a house located in Inkondo Avenue, Mutanga Nord area in the Ntahangwa commune in the north of the Burundian capital Bujumbura.

“Everything in the house has caught alight in the fire. I didn’t save anything. I was at work when I got a call from my neighbor telling me that a fire broke out in my house”, says Evode Irakoze, the tenant of the house in utter despair.

Neighbors and residents of the area have tried to extinguish the fire but to little avail. Jean Luc Rugerintwari, a neighbor says they have first used the garden hose to reduce the damage. “We have tried to prevent the extension of the fire towards other houses”, says Rugerintwari., Fire trucks came to extinguish the fire 30 minutes later.

The whole building has burned down and the tenants could not save anything. “There were carpentry workshops erected in a disorderly way and welding activities were being carried out in the morning. The fire would have originated in there and the flames were so intense that people could not get into the house. Fortunately, no human loss has been reported “; says Wakana.

Pierre Nkurikiye, Police Spokesperson says the origin of the fire would be the welding activities in the workshop “However, investigations are ongoing to identify the real cause of the fire”, says Nkurikiye. Residents call for the suspension of welding activities in residence areas.