Fire burns property worth millions in Isiolo town

Isiolo fire tragedy

A trader rummages through debris following a fire that burnt business premises at Kulamawe on the outskirts of Isiolo town on January 15, 2021.

Photo credit: Waweru Wairimu | Nation Media Group

Property worth millions of shillings has been reduced to ashes after fire burnt business premises belonging to five traders at Kulamawe on the outskirts of Isiolo town.

The affected traders said the fire that broke out minutes past midnight, razed their business wares as the county fire fighting team delayed to respond to their distress call.

Efforts by residents to put out the fire using water, soil and stones were futile as the inferno spread fast, overwhelming them.

Mr Paul Mwenda, whose furniture workshop was reduced to ashes, said he lost valuables worth more than Sh300,000, among them seats, beds, sofa sets and chairs.

He said stationery, clothes and KCPE certificates belonging to his two children who resided in a room behind his shop were also burnt down in the Friday night incident.

Ms Immaculate Wanja, whose mother’s food kiosk was also razed, said the traders were overwhelmed by the inferno and helplessly watched as their premises were consumed by the fire.

No water and driver

“When we called for help, the fire department that is about two kilometres away said they were not in a position to help as the fire engine had no water and driver,” said Ms Wanja.

The victims appealed for assistance from the Governor Mohamed Kuti’s administration as they have no other source of livelihood.

The traders demanded that fire services be streamlined to prevent such losses in future, adding that having a fire engine with no standby driver and water was useless.

“Is there need of having the engine if it cannot help us?” Mr Mwenda posed.

The traders hit out at the county government for failing to swiftly respond to fire cases, saying increasing incidents are being reported each day but the department either fails to appear or appears while damage has already occurred.

They want the county to ensure the fire engine is operational, saying it is unfortunate that they continue suffering while millions of shillings had been used to procure the fire engine and hire personnel.

“More fire engines should be procured to ensure quick response to fire cases. The department should also show some seriousness in responding to distress calls from the public,” Mr Boru Hassan said.

It is suspected that the fire was caused by an electric fault, though police are yet to issue a statement over the incident.