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Fire Destroys Stalls At Jua Kali in Kamukunji
Feb 16, 2012 (Nairobi Star/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
PROPERTY of unknown value yesterday was destroyed by a fire at the Kamukunji Jua Kali stalls.
A section of the estate, located along Jogoo Road, was also destroyed. The cause of the mid-afternoon inferno could not immediately be established, as residents and artisans expressed divergent views as to the source of the fire.
Witnesses said the fire was ignited by a stove from the neighboring residential quarters. "A vendor who sells eggs, and lives in a nearby house was seen salvaging his property when his stove burst into flames," said Penina Musengya, a businesswoman who sells metal boxes. Musengya said the fire, which came into contact with paint oil quickly spread to adjacent stalls.
She blamed the vendor for not raising the alarm upon sensing defeat in his efforts to fight back the fire. "Instead of sharing his predicaments with people, he only cared to save his property," Musengya said, adding that the man disappeared when the fire became uncontrollable.
Although nobody was injured in the incident, the damage was evident even as fire fighters from the City Council of Nairobi made frantic efforts to contain it. Popular for its job creation in the informal sector, the Jua Kali area has absorbed many artisans who specialise in making tinware for both farming and households.
Musengya blamed NCC for what she termed as slow response, with the fighters arriving at the scene two hours after the fire broke out.Residents and artisans at the estate were in a haste trying to salvage their belongings. Traffic along the stretch which links most of Eastlands with the city centre was disrupted.
An artisan, Stephen Anguro,narrated how the heat from the fire caused tins containing unused paints from the shop to burst open, thereby fueling the gut. "We heard loud explosions from our neighboring shops, only to learn later that they were from the tins which had been forced open as a result of the heat," he said.
While counting his luck to have come out of the burning scene alive. Anguro said the fire caused a lot of confusion and panic, as people attempted to scamper for safety, while at the same time struggling to salvage their property. There was a high sense of team work, as police kept vigil, and provided security, while people consolidated their goods on the road to create a path for NCC fighters. Cases of fire incidences have been rampant, especially in the informal sectors. Last year, scores of people died while others sustained serious injuries and property of unknown amount destroyed when a fire consumed Sinai village in Nairobi.
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