Several families have suffered losses after properties of unknown value were destroyed by fire in the Kiawara Slums in the Majengo area of Nyeri County on 8 July 2025.
The fire, which was reported on Tuesday afternoon, burned down several houses in the slum.
In the video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, residents are seen attempting to put out the fire by using buckets of water as dark smoke oozed out of the iron sheets.
According to reports, firefighters arrived at the scene after about an hour when the 20 houses were already destroyed. The cause of the fire and the fatalities are yet to be confirmed.
The residents hipped blame on the Nyeri County Fire Brigade for not responding to the incident swiftly which led to the fire spreading faster.
"We called the fire brigade, but they took almost one hour to arrive. By the time they arrived, the fire had already destroyed everything. The fire brigade was not effective at all," one of the victims lamented.
"They came with only one fire truck, and it was not enough to control the fire. We are very disappointed with the response from the Nyeri County fire brigade. They need to improve their services and response time," he added.
The locals called on the county government to improve its response to fire incidents, stating that this was not the first time the county had delayed its response.
"This is not the first time this has happened. Many people have lost their properties because of the slow response from the fire brigade. We demand better services and accountability from the Nyeri County government," he added.
In September last year, a fire broke out at Hillside Endarasha Academy in the same county the same county. The September 24, 2024, incident left 17 students dead and several others were injured.
The pupils were burnt beyond recognition during the night incident after a huge fire engulfed a dormitory at the institution.
The National Police Service confirmed that the students were at the dormitory when the incident occurred.
