An oil company along Mombasa Road is counting millions in losses after a massive fire broke out on the morning of Tuesday, February 3.
The fire razed down as section of Golden Africa Ltd – a prominent oil processing facility along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
Images and videos seen by Uzalendo News showed the extent of the inferno, as the fire appeared to have razed down a considerable part of the business premises.
Witnesses have since revealed that by daybreak, there was still a huge cloud of smoke coming from the factory, suggesting the fire was yet to be fully contained.
The incident was later confirmed by the Machakos County government, with Governor Wavinya Ndeti saying the fire was brought under control through a joint operation involving three agencies.
According to Wavinya, the Machakos County Emergency and Disaster Operations Centre received a distress call, prompting the rapid deployment of county emergency response teams.
Because the fire took place inside an oil company, the scale of the blaze has escalated from a conventional fire to an oil-based fire. This, in turn, complicated response efforts due to the highly flammable nature of the materials involved.
“Response efforts are inherently more complex and require careful management to ensure the safety of both responders and the public, as well as to protect property and salvage valuable assets,” the governor said.
Firefighters from Machakos County were supported by the Nairobi City County Fire Brigade, G4S security teams, and the National Youth Service in fighting the blaze.
While the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, preliminary reports suggest that the combination of combustible oils and industrial operations contributed to the rapid spread.
