Fire razes church in Mombasa

Several children escaped unhurt Saturday after a faulty electric bulb emitted sparks that caused a fire which razed a Mombasa church.The children were part of the Open Gate Ministries Kiembeni Worship Church choir that was practicing for the Sunday service.Witnesses at the scene said the afternoon inferno then spread to a nearby school, where a section of a building was partly destroyed.

During the incident, residents and worshippers used buckets of water to put out the fire that was later extinguished with the help of the Mombasa County fire Brigade.A Shocked worshipper Kitindi Maghanga said the faithful salvaged seats and musical equipment from the church premises.Mr Maghanga said the afternoon incident was an accident and not a case of arson or terror.“We have lost the makuti thatched building and we are waiting for the priest to arrive to let us know whether a service will take place tomorrow,” Mr Maghanga said.He said the value of the property destroyed had not been established since the assessors had not carried out valuation.A witness George Bandika claimed that the public turned rowdy and tried to barricade the Mombasa County brigade fire engines for taking too long to arrive at the scene.“We felt that the church building could have been saved only if they could have arrived fast,” he said.

Courtesy: Nation Newspaper online :