Four church faithful including their pastor were Sunday injured and property of unknown value destroyed when a church building caught fire in Ganga Ward of Tharaka Nithi County after a Sunday service.
The fire whose cause is yet to be established reduced Kanyambo Redeemed Gospel Church into ashes when worshippers and neighbours were unable to put out the inferno.
Eye witnesses said the fire emanated from a store room and the lucky worshippers who were on the first floor of the church managed to escape by jumping out through the windows in the course four of them sustained injuries.
“We were in one corner of the church just after the service when we heard someone shouting for help from outside only to walk out and find a huge inferno spewing fierce flames from a room where mattresses and other items are usually stored in the prayer house,” said Ms, Sicily Kagendo, an eye witness.
She said their efforts to put out the fire using water from jerricans were futile while the county government’s fire engine arrived when the building had been razed to the ground.
Jediel Kaburu, also an eye witness, said the fire engine which they were made to understand came all the way from Chuka town got to the scene more than thirty minutes later only to find the building and all the property therein consumed by the fire.
“We call on the county government to keep at least a fire engine at Chogoria town to save our lives and property in Maara Sub County from fire since waiting for one all the way from Chuka town is not tenable,” said Kaburu.
The leader of the County Fire Rescue Team Alex Mugambi called on residents to be using the Emergency Hotlines provided by the County to alert them of fire outbreaks so they can act in time to avoid losses.
He said the injured were rushed to Chogoria Mission Hospital for treatment.
By David Mutwiri
