Property of unknown value went up in smoke on Tuesday mid-morning after an explosion of a gas cylinder in Mukuru Kwa Reuben in Nairobi County.
The fire that broke out during the mid-morning hours was caused by a gas explosion in one of the houses before quickly spreading to adjacent structures in the slums of Mukuru.
This is according to eyewitnesses, who tried unsuccessfully to contain the fire but the blaze overpowered them.
Residents condemned the County Government of Nairobi for lack of accessible water that would have helped in putting out the fire immediately. Additionally, they lamented the poor state of the road network would have made it difficult for a fire engine to easily access the site.
Efforts to reach fire emergency services were not immediately possible as the emergency services were not available.
A video clip seen by Kenyans.co.ke depicted a huge fire and pitch-dark smoke rising to the air. In the videos, the residents appealed for urgent help even as responders intensified their efforts to put out the blaze.
So far one casualty, a child aged four years died during the blaze. It is estimated over 40 houses were razed down rendering the affected families homeless as most people were away at work. Speaking to the press, area chief Justus Kiema stated the source of the fire was related to an illegal power connection, which was exacerbated by explosion of a gas cylinder.
Similarly, by the time of publishing this article, the fire emergency unit had not arrived at the scene to contain the inferno which had razed a number of structures.
The incident comes exactly 6 days after another fire broke out in Mukuru kwa Reuben in the wee hours of Wednesday night, last week.
There have been a series of fire incidents at Nairobi's informal settlements reported in the recent past, a trend that is raising concerns.
The Mukuru fire incident that occurred 6 days ago was followed by another similar incident at the Muratina Road in Eastleigh in Nairobi on Wednesday, October 16.
During the incident, no injuries or casualties were reported with police officers cordoning the area to pave the way for investigations.
