"Ni Uchungu": Three Die as Night Fire Consumes Rental Houses in Kiambu
Three people died following a nighttime fire that destroyed rental houses in the Gituamba area of Gitaru, Kiambu County.
Preliminary reports indicated that the fire broke out on Wednesday, February 19, at around 8:30 p.m. Neighbors rushed to the scene to contain the flames before county fire engines arrived.
Witnesses said the bodies of the three victims, all young children, were discovered by neighbors after the fire was extinguished. The children were burned beyond recognition.
According to reports, two of the children perished while trying to open a locked door, while the third, a three-month-old baby girl, died in the bedroom.
First responders revealed that the children’s parents were not home at the time of the fire and had locked them inside.
3 Children Die After Gitaru Night Fire Burns Down Rentals
Gitaru night fire
One of the responders urged parents to always ensure their young children are left under proper supervision.
“I would like to ask those people going out to hustle—we know times are tough—but it’s important to ensure that you leave your children under someone’s care. As we have seen, the bodies of the kids were near the door, meaning they were trying to get out. But because the door had been locked from the outside, they could not manage to escape,” said a responder at the scene.
“To parents, if you have neighbours, ask them to watch over your children when you leave.”
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Eight rental houses were completely razed by the inferno, leaving families homeless and destroying all their belongings.
Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi also confirmed the incident mentioning that the county emergency team were at the scene.
“This evening, a building in Kiambu Town caught fire. The Kiambu County Government’s disaster management unit was deployed to the scene. More updates to follow,” Wamatangi said.
The residents however criticized the County fire department’s slow response adding that the fire engines arrived to handle the situation with insufficient water.
