Teso North residents have a reason to smile after the County procured a fire engine at the cost of Sh 60 million that will be stationed in Malaba town.
Its delivery comes two weeks after residents of Malaba town protested a delayed arrival of the county fire fighters following a fuel tanker explosion at Kajei Bridge in Malaba on October 9.
The sub county, which hosts the busy border town of Malaba and the One Stop Border Post, has been relying on a single fire engine stationed in Busia town and a ‘borrowed’ one from Tororo in Uganda every time a fire disaster strikes.
Speaking to the press after the delivery, the County Disaster Management Director Joseph Ekisa said the new fire engine will go a long way in ensuring the safety of not only the residents but also the businesses in Malaba town.
“It has been challenging to contain fire incidents in Malaba with only one fire engine that is stationed in Busia town.
“From now henceforth we shall be able to respond to fire incidents before such occurrences go out of hand.
“We want to ensure our response is as quick as possible during fire outbreaks in Malaba and its surroundings,”Ekisa said.
Shop owners who spoke to KNA in Amagoro and Malaba town lauded the county government for heeding their calls to procure another fire engine to be stationed in Malaba.
They said on a number of occasions the sub county has had fire incidents, they have had to wait for hours for the fire engine to move from Busia to Teso north.
They said with the fire fighter now stationed in Malaba town, it would be easy to respond to fire incidents not only in the town but across the entire sub county and parts of Teso South Sub County.
The business community in Malaba town has been at the forefront in pushing for the procurement of a fire engine to be stationed in the town which is the second largest urban zone in the county after Busia town.
They said lack of a fire engine is putting at risk their multi-million shilling businesses in the town.
By Melechezedeck Ejakait
