Embu governor, Cecily Mbarire, has vowed to get to the bottom of the cause of the fire incident that wiped out a family of seven in Ngimari village in Runyenjes constituency, Sunday morning.
Mbarire said that she has ordered the police to speed up investigations into the matter to establish the cause of the fire.
She said that the wooden house that was burnt down was not connected to electricity nor did the family have a gas cooker that could have triggered the fire.
The governor also added that the former administration left all the fire trucks grounded, making it difficult for them to effectively respond to fire emergencies in the county.
Mbarire assured Embu residents that her administration is going to ensure that all the fire trucks are brought back to ‘life’ so that they can respond to fire emergencies in the county.
She also added that the County Government is going to reconstitute the county Emergency Response Team and ensure that each Sub- County is allocated fire trucks to always be on standby in case such emergencies occur.
“My administration is going to reconstitute the County Emergency Response Team and we will ensure that each Sub-County is allocated fire trucks to always be on standby in case of any fire emergencies,” the Governor assured.
The governor also promised that her administration will foot the funeral expenses of the seven family members who perished out of the fire.
The seven who died on Sunday morning at 4 A.M were a husband, his wife, their three children and two grandchildren.
Benjamin Njeru an immediate neighbor of the deceased family said that he was woken-up by rays of fire at 4 A.M and upon approaching the house, he could not manage to rescue them because the fire could not be controlled by then.
He added that he tried calling out the names of the people that were inside but there was no response.
Njeru further added that he started screaming to call for help.
“I started screaming and my screams attracted two of my neighbours who joined me it shouting for help,” said Njeru, adding that by the time the fire was brought down, it had already caused immense damage.
While speaking at the scene Embu the East Sub- County Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Jane Waruinge said the cause of the fire was not established and the investigations are underway.
“We’re saddened by the bad news that we have lost seven members of the same family through fire. The cause of the fire has not been established though the police have launched investigations into the matter to establish the cause of the fire,” she said.
Various leaders across the county who mourned with the family condemned the incident and urged the police to speed-up investigations into the issue.
Embu County Women Representative, Pamela Njoki and Runyenjes constituency Legislator (MP), Erick Muchangi, have both urged the residents who could be having information regarding the cause of the fire to forward it to security agencies, so that it can help out in investigations.
“It is a sad moment for everyone and I take this moment to pass my sincere condolences to the family and friends. I would like to ask anyone with the information to kindly forward to the nearest police station to help in investigations, “said Njoki.
The seven bodies of the family were taken to the Embu Level 5 Hospital Mortuary, awaiting postmortem.
By Justus Anzaya
