Several families have been left homeless and property of unknown value destroyed following a Monday night fire that razed down rental houses at the Manguo slums in Nyahururu town, Laikipia County.
Reports indicated that the fire started at around 7:30 PM from one of the timber houses before it spread to nearby houses.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that a candle could have caused the fire in one of the houses before it spread uncontrollably.
Efforts by Nyahururu firefighters to contain the fire were fruitless, as it was reported that the fire engine had no water, forcing residents to chase the personnel away.
Victims and residents joined hands and made frantic efforts to salvage household items, but unfortunately, the fire went out of control, and the residents watched helplessly as the houses burnt up.
Susan Wangui, a victim, said she heard distress calls, and when she came out to check what was happening, she found a huge fire near her house.
Joseph Ndung’u, also a victim, recounted how he found their house on fire and watched helplessly as he could not access his room to salvage his items.
Harun Kimathi, who works at Nyahururu town, was headed home when he saw a huge ball of fire from the village, but when he came closer, he discovered their rented house was on fire.
The victims said they were unable to salvage their belongings, while some of them were also stolen by some individuals who took advantage of the sorry situation.
Laikipia Senator John Kinyua, who visited the scene soon after the fire broke out, was distraught over the destruction, blaming the slow response of the fire department.
By Antony Mwangi
