Fire destroys houses at Halai Estate, South C in Nairobi

Four houses were razed by a huge fire at Halai Estate in South C, Nairobi, on Thursday evening. Residents said the fire started at around 8.30pm in one of the houses and spread over the roofs of three other houses. No casualties were reported. Firefighters arrived about 30 minutes later in three trucks and were later joined by another truck from the National Youth Service a few minutes past 10pm. Ms Leila Abdi, whose house was affected, managed to salvage some of her household items. She said: “We thought it was a neighbour lighting a jiko, as we could smell plastic burning, but in a short while smoke filled our house and we rushed out.”

POWER DISCONNECTED

The owners of the other three houses could not be traced for comment. On standby were paramedics from the Kenya Red Cross, area police officers and Kenya Power staff, who disconnected the power supply shortly after the fire began, to avert further damage. The fire, whose cause is unknown, was contained by around 10.30pm before it could spread to the fifth house. In its wake, it left clouds of smoke that choked crowds that had gathered to witness the inferno. The scene also had pools of water that spilled from the water trucks as the fire was being put out.

Courtesy Nation Online Newspaper