Over 100 families homeless after fire in Mukuru Fuata Nyayo slum
Residents of Mukuru Fuata Nyayo slum in Nairobi South Ward look for their property following a fire on September 19, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Victim Sarah Wambui, 48 said the evening fire started in one of the houses and spread quickly to the others.
- Security guard Samson Tinega, 42, escaped death by a whisker as he was sleeping at the time.
More than 100 families at Mukuru Fuata Nyayo slum in Nairobi South Ward spent Saturday night in the cold after a fire razed their homes.
Victim Sarah Wambui, 48 said the evening fire started in one of the houses and spread quickly to the others.
Residents used piped water to put out the fire as others demolished structures to prevent it from spreading further.
A fire at Mukuru Fuata Nyayo slum in Nairobi South Ward, which left over 100 families homeless, on September 19, 2020.
A stone perimeter wall prevented the fire from spreading to a nearby private school.
Security guard Samson Tinega, 42, escaped death by a whisker as he was sleeping at the time.
“Neighbours rushed into my house and rescued me from suffocating,” he said.
The result of a fire at Mukuru Fuata Nyayo slum in Nairobi South Ward on September 19, 2020.
While noting that congestion hampers the fight against fires in the slum, resident Isaiah Kinyosi asked authorities to build and maintain access roads.
Other residents said people pretending to be good Samaritans stole their property.
A local administrator who did not want to be named said 106 families were affected and that police were investigating the cause of the fire.
