Fire Breaks Out At Kawangware 56 [VIDEO]

A fire broke out at Kawangware 56 in Nairobi, reportedly razing down houses and destroying property of unknown value.

Photos and footage seen by Viral Tea showed a huge inferno visible from a vantage point as it swept through the houses, causing panic among the residents at other sections such as Mti Kubwa and Madiaba.

A fire engine from the County Department arrived on scene in response to the fire incident. Speaking to Viral Tea, an eyewitness revealed however that the fire engine was deployed without water to contain the inferno, though lamented the slow response rate by the Nairobi County government in terms of fire incidents in informal settlements.

"So another one came and it's what has put it off with the locals...Sakaja needs to do better with fire response in informal settlements," the witness told us.

Yes there is a huge fire that has razed houses at Kawangware 56, Gatina. Firefighters are on site. https://t.co/aG79I0hvXG pic.twitter.com/aMH3cJA5QR — Kawangware Finest ™ (Geoffrey Moturi) (@cbs_ke) January 3, 2025

Another one was deployed and helped locals to put out the fire, whose cause is yet to be established by the time of publishing this article. However, some reports indicated that a petrol tanker burst into flames.

The number of casualties is also yet to be determined. This latest incident outlines the dangers of fire outbreaks in informal settlements.

On October 22, 2024, property of unknown value went up in smoke when a fire affected close to 50 houses in Mukuru kwa Reuben. According to Bramwell Simiyu, Nairobi County Chief Officer of Disaster and Risk Coordination, investigations indicated that the fire, initially suspected to be a gas explosion, could have been caused by an electrical fault.

This fault resulted in gas cylinders located in some of the houses exploding after the fire had already begun, intensifying the flames that rapidly spread through the densely packed settlement.

A few hours ago, a fire incident occurred at Kikuyu town near a footbridge along the Southern Bypass in Nairobi. Video clips showed the huge inferno visible from a high point as residents rushed to save their property, among them gas cylinders, and nearby businesses, including a mattress shop and a butchery.

Witnesses at the scene also wondered why it took so long for first responders to arrive, despite the Kiambu County Fire Station for the area being located less than 1 km away from the scene.

Traffic on the service lane of the bypass was brought to a standstill with curious onlookers thronging the scene to get a glimpse of how the first responders were containing the fire.