One Dead After Fire Torches Bar In Kisii

Police officers are investigating a fire incident at a bar in Birongo, Kisii County which led to one person dead and two seriously injured.

The fire was alleged to have started at around 3 am but its cause was not yet established.

Property of unknown value was razed down during the fire, which was eventually put out by the Kisii fire brigade.

The residents who were asleep when the fire broke out suspected that it was deliberately started by arsonists.

The aftermath of a fire that razed down a bar in Birongo, Kisii County on January 17, 2023. /VIRALTEAKE.ELIZABETH ANGIRA

Confirming the incident, Kisii County OCPD Amos Ambasa revealed that the deceased succumbed due to the magnitude of the fire.

Ambasa added that investigations have been launched into the incident while the bar owner was held in custody.

The body of the deceased has been transferred to Kisii Teaching Referral Hospital awaiting autopsy.

On December 26, 2022, in Nairobi, a disc jockey (DJ) had one of his phrases mistaken by a patron at the popular Quiver Lounge along Thika Road who prompted firefighters from the Nairobi County Fire Department to respond.

The saga began while the DJ was entertaining revellers at the popular lounge along Thika Road when he made the common pronouncement 'the house is on fire' with an intention of cheering them up.

However, one of the revellers had interpreted it as the club being actually on fire, and during the heat of the moment, called the fire brigade which arrived in a fire engine to put out the flames.

"Confusion as a Nairobi Fire Truck arrived at Quiver Lounge along Thika Road to put off an inexistent fire.

"Apparently, a drunk bloke called the department and informed them of a fire, but it turned out that he mistook DJ's message of "Ita Wazima Moto" for an inferno," wrote Sammy Ogola on Twitter.

When the firefighters called back for more details, the reveller claimed that the DJ had pronounced that the house was on fire before he made the report.

Quiver Lounge Head of Marketing and Public Relations Fiona Maureen however denied the existence of the fire as the intoxicated reveller had alleged, noting that DJs often make such pronouncements whenever music and dance have climaxed for revellers to enjoy themselves.

"Most people have travelled upcountry for the Christmas festivities and we've enjoyed serving clients we get. That doesn't mean the premises are literally on fire," she told the media.

A fire truck outside Quiver Lounge along Thika Road on December 26, 2022. /TWITTER.SAMMY OGOLA