Several houses were destroyed at Mukuru Kwa Reuben in Nairobi following a fire breakout on Tuesday, October 22.
According to an eyewitness, the fire broke out following a gas explosion.
In a video seen by Uzalendo News, the fire could be seen spreading to other houses, with a section of residents trying to put it out with small buckets of water.
“We need firefighters, houses are burning down one by one; we don’t have water, it was disconnected, and as you can see the fire is spreading to the second house. We need fire brigades,” the eyewitness could be heard saying.
Residents condemned the County Government of Nairobi for lack of accessible water that would have helped in putting out the fire immediately.
Additionally, they lamented the poor state of the road network would have made it difficult for a fire engine to easily access the site.
Efforts to reach fire emergency services were not immediately possible as the emergency services were not available.
Nairobi County also confirmed the incident saying that 50 houses were torched.
“The Nairobi City County Government confirms a fire at Mukuru Kwa Reuben initially suspected to have been a gas fire, but a preliminary investigation indicates may be as a result of electrical fault. The gas cylinders located in some of the houses exploded thereafter. Approximately fifty housing units were affected,” a statement by Bramwell Simiyu, a Niarobi County official, read in part.
