Rwanda National Police

The Rwanda National Police (RNP) Fire and Rescue Brigade, Friday managed to put out fire that broke out of the commercial building commonly known as ‘Ndamage’ located in the Central Business District of Nyarugenge.

The Commanding Officer of the Fire and Rescue Brigade, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Jean Baptiste Seminega, said that “we were able to respond in time because occupants called them as soon as possible.”

“The fire broke out at about 9pm, and we received a call immediately through our emergency toll-free line—112; firefighting and rescue tracks were dispersed immediately. We responded with in less than 10 minutes and no property was destroyed,” ACP Seminega said.

“We are yet to establish the real cause of the fire but we suspect to have been sparked off by short-circuit.”

ACP Seminega thanked the residents for calling the Police in real time, which he said it facilitated timely response to prevent likely loss of property and even lives.

“If they had not called for rescue in time, the fire could have spread even to other nearest buildings; it would have been a total disaster, loss of property and even lives,” the Commanding Officer said.

He also took the moment to appeal to owners of commercial buildings and residential houses to install firefighting gadgets such as fire extinguishers, and fire alarm systems to be able to extinguish the fire before it spreads.

He also called on owners of buildings to use recommended electric equipment, use qualified electricians and always assess their installations.

The RNP Fire and Rescue Brigade also trains different groups of people on how to detect and prevent fire outbreaks, as well as how to use various basic firefighting equipment.

As part of the immediate response, water hydrants were also installed on almost all commercial facilities.

“We are available whenever people require us to train them on how to prevent or to put out fire.”