Kinshasa: Cigarette butt ‘probable’ cause of fire in a commune (Fire Chief)

Kinshasa, October 12^th, 2025 (CPA).- A cigarette butt thrown near pieces of straw was presented as the ‘probable’ cause of a fire that broke out on Saturday evening in a carpentry workshop in Ngaliema, a commune in western Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, according to administrative sources on Sunday. « We do not yet have details on the origin of the fire. But initial indications point to a cigarette butt thrown next to a pile of vines stacked with pieces of wood and straw, the smoke from which must have caused the flames. This is the probable cause of the fire, » said Mugiama Kangafu, commander of the Kinshasa fire brigade. ‘The fire, which broke out at around 10 p.m., could have been extinguished by the carpenters or other people who witnessed the fire if they had had fire extinguishers. Unfortunately, there were none. However, I have always warned these types of establishments about the need to have fire extinguishers on their premises,’ he added. According to the fire chief, the governor of the city of Kinshasa was himself on site. He saw how the firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames. ‘We will have to buy more firefighting vehicles. The ones we have are no longer in good condition,’ said Commander Mugiama. ‘It was very difficult to extinguish the fire. Fortunately, we called in our partner, who sent us a large tanker truck. MONUSCO also intervened with its vehicle,’ he said.

According to him, the fire brigade worked until three in the morning to extinguish the flames, which consumed almost all the furniture and chairs that the carpenters make and sell on site. Some of the houses neighboring this area were slightly affected by the flames. All the fire engines available to the fire brigade are out of order. The governor sent them to the urban public works division for repairs. Only one small emergency vehicle remains, with limited response capacity. ‘We are waiting for the four fire engines that the government has purchased for us. I believe they will arrive in November,’ concluded Commander Mugiama. ACP/