On a Thursday night, fire destroyed items that were worth millions of shillings and left a large number of families without homes at Katani Villas in Syokimau, Machakos County.
People living in the area state that the fire got out of control at around 7:30 p.m., and it then spread through the estate and caught five houses on fire.
The situation was terrible as per the description given by the ones who saw it, with smoke coming out of the roofs and occupants running around trying to save their belongings.
Emergency services from Nairobi and Machakos counties who received distress calls went to the scene to support the residents. The firefighters were not able to save the five houses, they were burnt to ashes by the fire.
A resident retells their scary experience, saying the fire moved so fast that they couldn’t stop it. “Before the engines came, we had tried to put out the fire with water and sand, but it was too much for us to handle,” said the resident.
In the same manner, families involved in the incident were left counting their losses but no injuries or deaths were reported as per authorities. The emergency squads stayed to do their duties of fire prevention well into the night. The fire origin is still unclear, but the first probe seems to suggest that the fire might have been caused by an electric fault.
The local officials have already asked for support from the government to the families who have suffered from the fire and also to the county for putting out the fire more efficiently in the estate that is expanding so fast.
Even on Friday morning the displaced families were still sleeping outside their houses, continuing to plead for relief to be able to rebuild their lives.
