2,500 Traders Count Losses After Fire Torches Toi Market [PHOTOS & VIDEO]
Multiple reports indicated that the inferno broke out at around 2 am and ran until 6 am, destroying property worth millions of shillings.
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Over 2,500 traders at Toi market in Kibra, Nairobi county on Sunday, June 11 counted losses after their stalls were destroyed by a fire that broke out in the early morning hours.
Multiple reports indicated that the inferno broke out at around 2 am and ran until 6 am, destroying property worth millions of shillings.
One of the traders who spoke to Citizen Digital revealed that the fire broke out following an electrical explosion in one of the stalls which then spread to many others.
"I was called around 1 am but I was not able to arrive here at that time and my stall has been burnt down. I used to sell pillows, pillowcases, duvets and many other things. It has affected around 3,000 stalls," lamented another trader.
Toi Market ???? pic.twitter.com/nwPQGC7YdS — Slumphotography (@Slumphotography) June 11, 2023
However, some traders suspect the unfortunate incident was a well-plotted arson attack.
Efforts to put out the fire on time had turned futile as the traders complained regarding the limited access to the market for the fire brigade, which was forced to operate from the main road.
"They came and they stopped on the road, they didn't help but there is no path to gain access inside the market and there are even gates erected in most places," said one trader.
"How can you bring trucks that have no water, I witnessed it myself, three of them came and they told us that they need to get the water from Nairobi water," complained another.
By 6.30 am, most of the fire had been put out, with the extent of the damage yet to be ascertained by the time of publication.
Clouds of black smoke were seen billowing from make-shift stalls that were used to store bales of apparel.
The traders added that the fire outbreak was the third of such in the market's lifetime, now calling on authorities to put up safety measures to avoid similar incidences in the future.
Aftermath of a fire that destroyed a section of Toi Market on June 11, 2023. /TWITTER
Toi Market is rarely known for fire outbreaks, with this being the first since a series of similar incidents in 2022. In comparison, fires at Gikomba Market in Nairobi have been frequent, and have been raising concerns across the board.
A fire last broke out at Gikomba Market on December 27, 2022, prompting Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja's intervention. During his visit on December 29, 2022, Sakaja offered to support the traders with donations worth Ksh2.4 million.
He also consoled the family of Alfred Mugo Wahome who died as a result of injuries caused by the fire and supported his family with a Ksh200,000 donation.
"With Gikomba traders earlier today when I delivered support worth Ksh2.4 million as well as Ksh200,000 to the family of Alfred Mugo Wahome who unfortunately succumbed after an inferno at Gikomba.
"Updated them on the progress we’ve made on the fire station whose construction will commence soon as well as on the processing of the public title deed for Gikomba which we’re expediting with the NLC," Sakaja stated in part.
Gikomba is one of Kenya's most popular markets where Kenyans go to buy clothing and second-hand goods at affordable prices, with a similar look and feel to what one would get in premium fashion stores located in shopping malls across Nairobi County.
However, it has also been notorious for a number of fire outbreaks that have seen property destroyed and lives lost. The one on Tuesday, December 27 added to the long list of fires at Gikomba that have dominated headlines.
The repetitive fires that have affected traders since the 2010s have also made it difficult for traders to rebuild their businesses for normal resumption.
