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More than four people were feared dead, while six others were injured when a supermarket in Nairobi’s city centre caught fire.
The early afternoon fire broke out at Nakumatt Downtown on Kimathi Street, causing customers to rush out through the nearest entrance. There were fears that some workers and customers may have been trapped in the building. The early inferno, which workers claimed was triggered by an electric fault, could not at first be contained by the combined efforts from the City Council, Kenya Army, Kenya Airports Authority and private company G4S firefighters.
The inferno engulfed the entire building. Explosions from gas cylinders rent the air from 2.45pm and kept exploding, re-igniting blazes that had been quelled.
Wailing sirens punctuated the city’s peace and calm into the early evening as a police chopper kept aerial surveillance to ensure the fire did not spread to other buildings.
The fire had not been contained by the time we went to press.
Internal Security minister George Saitoti, who arrived at the scene immediately, said fire engines ran out of water and reinforcements had to be called.
Nairobi Metropolitan Development Minister Mutula Kilonzo and Police Commissioner Hussein Ali also went to the scene.
Outside the burning building, a man who said he works for the supermarket claimed some people had been trapped inside.
"I have left a colleague (name withheld)," he said hysterically. "A worker has fainted up there after inhaling the smoke. Please go and get him."
Missing Husband
But before they could explain where the said victims were, an explosion was heard inside, forcing the rescuers and firefighters to abandon their work.
At around 8.30pm, a woman was crying at the scene, saying her husband, with whom she had gone into the supermarket, was still missing.
She said he was in a different aisle and when the fire broke out, she dashed out. Efforts to reach her husband on his mobile phone were fruitless as it was off.
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| A policeman clears the crowd from the scene. [PHOTO: COLLINS KWEYU/STANDARD] |
Later, the supermarket management said four workers were missing after a headcount at Jeevanjee Gardens where they met after the incident.
Spokesman Antony Ng’ang’a said there were 103 workers who were supposed to be on duty, but a headcount found only 99. "We are still trying to locate the whereabouts of the four," he told The Standard on the phone.
Treated For Shock
Kenya National Hospital Clinical Services deputy director Charles Kabetu confirmed that one Nakumatt employee and six by-standers had been taken there where they was being treated for shock, smoke inhalation and fractures.
There were no independent confirmations whether any customers were trapped inside although one witness said she had seen a woman with a child near where there was an initial explosion that caused the fire.
Police Commissioner Ali said they could not determine the number of the casualties until a headcount was concluded.
Prof Saitoti, too, said it was too early to know if there were any casualties. Witnesses said the inferno started from the supermarket when a mild explosion was heard.
"There had been a blackout and when power resumed, we heard an explosion from the staircase. Then there was smoke," said a worker.
But Ali said he had not yet established what caused the fire and asked for time to investigate.
However, some officers said a violation of by-laws on public safety and unpreparedness by the Nairobi Fire Brigade may be to blame.
Nairobi City Council Emergency Medical Technician Charles Choi said his team could not access the premises as a wall had sealed the fire exit.
The chairman of the Architectural Association of Kenya and Building Inspection Committee, under the Ministry of Works, Mr Wachira Njuguna, said he did not see any fire door when he visited the supermarket.
Njuguna further said it was against city by-laws to store gas cylinders in an enclosed space. But City Council Director of Planning Peter Kibinda said there were exemptions to the rule if one had a fire certificate of compliance and fire extinguishers.
Nakumatt could not be reached for comment on the wall by the time we went to Press.
City Council Acting Chief Fire Officer Brian Chunguli blamed the public for blocking his team. "We got the running call informing us of the fire at 3.05pm and in five minutes, we were at the scene," he said.
"The supermarket stores goods like gas cylinders, mattresses and materials of plastic nature that naturally fuel the fire," he added.
By Standard Team
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