Traders’ days of pain, lessons after Kariakoo fire incident

Dar es Salaam. There is no serious business, but traders have never stopped visiting the site where their stalls that were burned down during last Sunday’s Kariakoo fire incident stood.

Recovering the remains of the auto spare parts destroyed by the fire is the only thing the desperate traders can undertake as they wait for the outcome of investigations into the cause of the horrible incident.

The Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Alex Chalamila, has formed a probe team and given it seven days to give answers.

A survey by The Citizen at the scene of the incident found some of the business owners collecting the remains of what used to be valuable and high-priced car parts.

“Until this moment, I am not sure if these assets will be compensated.

“Almost everything completely burned. I don’t understand how they will be counted in the assessment,” “said Mr Hassan Mohamed, who is famously known by his colleagues as Mpambayage.

Mpambayage says the early morning ire destroyed his properties worth more than Sh20 million.

Living in Buguruni area of the city, Mr Mpambayage is not sure how he will re-establish the business he built for many years.

“I sat down and cried here the day of the fire incident because I had nothing else to think about or do at that time. It’s sad considering how I struggled to make sure my shop was growing.

“I had not borrowed money anywhere to run the business. I fought for a long time to reach that point,” he added.

Most of the business owners were shocked by calls about the fire, which razed about 550 stalls.

“After receiving the information that a fire was about to catch our stalls, I wanted to leave the house, but my eldest son stopped me. I had panicked. I think the family was afraid that I might face a problem along the way,” said another entrepreneur, Mr Abdallah Mgwami.

His oldest son told him to stay home, as he represented the father. However, he saved nothing from the burning shop upon arrival.

“I’m thankful that I ordered other goods from outside Tanzania, and the shipment has not arrived until now. I hope that it will help me revive the shop.

“If it wasn’t for the closeness of my family during this difficult period, I could have made bad decisions like committing suicide because it was very bad news to receive,” said Mr Mgwami, who sells electronics.

According to him, he lost about Sh14 million due to the fire incident, which reduced the stalls to ashes.

Another entrepreneur, Ms Teddy Msofe, received the information about the fire incident while on the way back to Dar es Salaam from her home town, Tanga.

“When I got the call, my shop had already burned down. She then sent her brother to assess the situation.

“When he arrived at the scene, he confirmed that everything inside my stall was burned by the fast-spreading fire,” she said.

She estimates a loss of more than Sh40 million.

“When I arrived at the scene the next day, I was exhausted because I knew that poverty had officially returned to my life. My only business completely melted away,” she said.

Lesson learnt

However, one thing is making her remain brave despite the losses: the business was insured.

“I am now waiting for the insurance company to make an assessment and decide what they will pay me so that I can revive my business. But, even if I return to business, it cannot be in this area anymore because I am afraid the incident will occur again,” she said.

The traders said the incident should be a lesson for both the business operators in the Kariakoo area, where fire incidents repeatedly occur.

Mr Mgwami urges the government to improve the fire and rescue force by giving them enough equipment to enhance their capacity to deal with such incidents.

“It’s not the first time that a fire has broken out around Kariakoo market, but every time a fire breaks out, rescue efforts fail to save properties,” he said.

They blame infrastructure that had not facilitated the firefighters and rescue teams to arrive at the scene on time.

“I think unfriendly infrastructure delayed the rescue team.

“We should look at these types of incidents critically. They are repetitive, and yet no solution has been found. They are affecting businesses.

“The government is also losing revenue when we don’t do business,” said Mr Mpambayage.

The traders also say authorities need to ensure that fire hydrants remain active all the time in the Kariakoo market to help rescue missions in times of fire outbreaks.

“There are some systems, but they are not working,” she said.