At least two people have been confirmed dead in a fire incident that razed down 21 rental houses in Kerugoya town, Kirinyaga county.
Confirming the incident, Kirinyaga Central Subcounty Police Commander Johnstone Mwarigha said police have launched investigations to establish the cause.
“We are going to get to the bottom of this matter and inform the public on what led to the unfortunate incident,” he said.
The head of Fire and Disaster Management in Kirinyaga John Kiama said that they discovered two bodies burnt beyond recognition at the scene.
“One body belonged to a four months old child while the second one is that of a middle-aged man,” Kiama said.
It is suspected that the fire resulted from an explosion of a cooking stove which one of the tenants was using to cook.
Tenants of the semi-permanent buildings have counted huge losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of shillings as a result of the fire incident.
Stephen Mwangi is amongst the residents who lost property worth about sh600,000
“I lost a public address system amongst other electronic gadgets that I had invested in. That was my source of livelihood. Now I have to figure out how to start again,” he says.
He added that after the fire broke out, he rushed to the fire department premises to call for help but it was already too late as the fire spread fast and consumed the houses.
Agnes Wainoi, also a victim, said that the fire engine did not also have enough water to put out the fire as soon as they arrived. Her family also lost a four months old child.
“We had invested in a green grocery business but our hopes to lead a better life have now gone with the wind. My sister has also lost a child,” said a sobering Agnes.
Kirinyaga Central Member of Parliament Munene Wambugu has urged the security team to conduct thorough investigations on the incident so that appropriate action is taken.
