The Ndola City Council is saddened by the fire which has engulfed almost the entire Kapalala Market in Masala.
Addressing the media today, Ndola City Council Town Clerk Wisdom Bwalya who was at the scene with His Worship the Mayor Mr. Amon Chisenga said it was unfortunate because hundreds of traders had lost their livelihoods.
“It pains us deeply to announce that almost the entire Kapalala market in Masala, Ndola has been gutted by a fire that swept through the trading place in the early hour of today,” Mr Bwalya said.
“The fire which is reported to have started around 01:00hrs was quenched by alert fire fighters with the help of local residents. I was at the scene from around 01:00hrs.”
He noted that hundres of traders have been affected by the inferno and many livelihoods curtailed.
He said the total cost of damaged goods and merchandise is yet to be ascertained and relevant authorities are on the ground to ascertain the cause.
“Relevant authorities are on the ground carrying out the necessary investigations to establish the exact cause of the inferno and updates will be given to the media and through media to the public,” Mr Bwalya said.
“Our hearts are with the hundreds of marketeers who have lost their livelihoods.”
Mr Bwalya has commended the efforts of the residents and fire fighters in trying to quench the fierce inferno and ensuring that no life was lost.
This is contained in a statement by Ndola council Public relations manager Tilyenji mwanza.
Meanwhile, Kabushi member of parliament Bowman Lusambo who is also Copperbelt Minister described the incident as saddening.
Mr Lusambo said the market was a place for thousands of people who depended on trading for the livelihoods.
“It is with a deep sense of concern that I announce that almost the entire Masala Kapalala Market in Masala Township. Skyways Ward in Kabushi Constituency has burnt to ashes destroying merchandise belonging to hundreds of Marketeers who depend on this market for their livelihoods,” Mr. Lusambo.
“Information gathered so far indicate that the fire started around 01:00 Hours. The cause of the fire has not yet been identified and the fire has since been put out by a brave team of fire fighters with the help of the local people. I would have visited the scene this morning but I am away in Lusaka attending to Cabinet duties but I wish to assure my people that I will visit the scene later today and empathise with the victims of this devastation,” Mr Lusambo wrote on his Facebook page.
ANOTHER SONG BY GENERAL KANENE PLEASE!!! So now who is to blame in this fire again when the state is under threatened emegency, police have maximum power, HH is out and walking freely GBM has a knee problem most likely bewitched by his Tonga Cohorts, SO WHO TO BLAME NOW WHEN ALL PERCEIVED CULPRITS ARE AROUND , POLICE ANY HINT???
the aggrieved pf cadres are the ones to blame because they were deceived by Chakolwa Kadansa Kamwendo Lungu that they will have more money in their pockets…lol
In my opinion, like city market fire, this fire was not started by a person, investigations should focus on unsupervised illegal power connections in the markets which are the likely cause of these fires.
I once sold in a market and fires resulting from poor and unsupervised power connections happen very often and people in the market put off the fires. But in this case and city market, the fires happened at night when there was no one to put them off.
If GRZ really wants to stop these fires, let investigations be objective, professional and non political.
I wonder how much has been set aside by the government to rebuild masala market. I’m sure they will tell us today, just as they did on the same day that market in lusaka got burnt.
And I await a press conference announcing a full state of emergency.
PF Checkmate. Or is it?
And those blaming health and safety, or poor electrical installations/maintenance…
How come these fires are just now starting? Is there a history of such in zed? These markets have been around for donkey years btw.
Something does not smell right.
As the mooch once said…”there are only two fish that do not stink in this scenario”. PF is not one of them.
Somebody’s cattle should be killed,slaughtered, murdered
This time we should focus on Kambwili
DJ7 Ulimwana Wandoshi you non objective school failure !
I didn’t know this name “Kapalala” has been formalised. It come from one John Chibumba, a tramp that patronised the Ndola Main Market in the 70s when we were young!! hard luck to the victims!!
this name kapalala derived from a place called kapalala in mansa. those days, the trucks bringing fish from kapalala in mansa used to pack there. hence the name kapalala.
Chabukambwe’s explanation makes more sense.
Lets not have a blame game. Let commonsense prevail and the appropriate authorities investigate. Sympathy to all traders and resudents affected by this disaster
no jobs, no money in people’s pockets.ba fikallla ba pf will continue singing dununa reverse…lol
Puloblem pa zed natural causes don’t seem to cross the minds of people. Everything that happens is assumed man/woman is behind it. sometimes sh!t happens and we just have to deal with it. We need to focus more on fire safety training. Teach marketeers the dangers of cooking using ka plate only inside the market and attending to customers at the same time. look at restaurants inside and for hell’s sake introduce monthly safety inspections.
Asanteni.
These fires are caused by poor safety measures. Let us not politicise this. Traders at these markets cook within and may not have put off their braiziers and maybe there was a wind. sorry for the traders .
Until Zambia assumes serious fire safety regulations these fires will be a common occurrence…..the wiring is geared towards loadsheding and can not cope with 24hr supply.. .
The government must seize this opportunity to incubate and ecourage a local fire safety industry…smoke alarms and fire extinguishers should be made in zambia to provide jobs for our people….demand for those products is comming and don’t let this opportunity pass and hand all jobs to China.
The status quo can not go on with out mandatory stringent fire regulations. Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers must be made mandatory in all public places. So lets make them in zambia.
Maybe those cashing in on the TSOE are looking for excuses to justify the TSOE and it’s possible extension beyond 3 months. Just thinking circumspectly because the root cause will never be known.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that all Zambian markets are tinder boxes (and health hazards). A lot of plastic is used for the tuntemba structures, they are overcrowded and have no fire protection installations. They have few sanitary installations and waste management is non-existent (after the fires, it will be the bubonic plague).They are all accident’s waiting to happen. We still have 19th Century Structures and a lot of braziers are used. Thank God these fires are happening at night when there are no people. Imagine the stampede that would ensue in daylight as exits are not clearly sign posted. The answers to the questions are simple: enforce bye-law compliance, reduce congestion, upgrade fire protection installations, enforce proper waste management and build more…
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that all Zambian markets are tinder boxes (and health hazards). A build more smaller scale markets as opposed to the huge sprawling death traps.
Only a paranoid fo ol would shoot down your point.
Fwe bene twalitemwa ukititikana no kula kwesana…! You cannot see the benefits and opportunities that crowded places provide for all the unemployed and resource-starved single mums and all!
Red attire means fire!
A paranoid fo ool like this one above.
They promised ‘Armageddon’ lo and behold we are witnessing their promise
Fi UPND what else do you want ?
Comment:
Yes, the structures are generally sub-standard, old-fashioned, never maintained, never upgraded, and really nothing to write home about. Relics of days gone by, sadly.
So what benefit has the state of emergency brought? Maybe if the police re-direct their efforts from blocking HH’s thanks giving prayers or UPND’s card renewal exercises, progress will be made in identifying the culprit or culprits if any