Residents of Umoja Estate in Nairobi had a tough time on Sunday evening after a fire broke out in one of the commercial shops.
The fire, which broke out just minutes before midnight, forced residents in the adjacent buildings to rush out in fear of the inferno spreading to the adjacent residential buildings. The fire was reported in the Peacock area of the estate.
The fire reportedly originated from a fast food joint that specialises in fries.
However, it was not immediately clear whether the inferno was a result of an electric fault, an accident, or an act of arson.
Images and videos obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed the residents running while raising the alarm for emergency responses.
Furthermore, large balls of fire and smoke billowed from the shops, plunging the entire surrounding area into chaos.
The residents who came to control the inferno also raised fears of the balls of fire coming into contact with the nearby electricity transmission cables.
However, the residents and the business owners were forced to combat the inferno before the Nairobi County disaster management unit responded to the fire.
By the time of publishing this article, neither the local administration nor the county government had issued an update on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Additionally, it remained unclear whether there were any casualties or injuries reported.
On August 29 last year, at least two people reportedly lost their lives after a fire broke out at the nearby Umoja Three Estate.
The two children, aged four and five, were alone in the house when the fire, which eventually spread to adjacent buildings, broke out.
According to reports, about 20 residential houses were destroyed while property of unknown value was also gutted.
