By OTIATO GUGUYU More by this Author Property and goods of unknown value were Tuesday night destroyed by a huge fire at the Gikomba market, near Sahuri Moyo lower bridge. The fire started at around 8pm and razed a large section of the market. According to an eye witness who operates a hotel where the fire started said the inferno was sparked by an alleged small explosion at Joy stores adjacent to his eatery. He discounted claims that the fire was sparked by an electrical fault because he supposedly saw a bulb in the store even as the fire started spreading “It was at 7.45 when I heard a small explosion at Joy stores where people keep their bales awaiting to sell in the morning, in no time I heard three more from different places before it spread quickly,” said John Wachira who lost all his property at Usafi kiosk. The traders flattened stalls around the burning area to contain it as fire engines from Nairobi County Fire Brigade, NYS and private companies who were at the scene were unable to access the area. The traders claim that the fire engines arrived 30 minutes late and now want the county government to provide stand-by engines for the robust market. “We pay as much as Sh15,000 in these stalls yet the county government cannot even respond in time,” Benard Owino told The Nation on site. Buruburu police division commander Richard Kerich said they were yet to establish the cause of the fire but were interviewing residents to get witness accounts. “We have moved in to secure the area against looting and have launched investigations to establish the cause of the fire,” he said. The traders however claim that the fire might have been a case of arson following a row over a road that is supposed to pass through the market linking the post offices on one side and jua kali on the adjacent side. They claim that it was too coincidental for the ‘unusual’ fire to break barely two weeks after a standoff over the road. They are now asking the police to carry out thorough investigations into the matter to establish the cause of the fire.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 06:54:01 +0000
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