MATHARE TRAGEDY: 5 DEAD, 4 INJURED IN FIRE OUTBREAK

RESIDENTS DEMAND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR FIREFIGHTERS IN MATHARE TRAGEDY

Five people have been confirmed dead, and four others are nursing injuries following a devastating fire in kosovo, mathare slums, nairobi. The tragic incident, which occurred on sunday at midnight, claimed the lives of three adults and two children, while destroying eight residential houses and a church.

“It was midnight, we were sleeping and i was in heavy sleep, then i heard my neighbour shouting fire. When i got out, i found that the house was already in fire, smoke all over. Coming out with my wife and child, we realised the stairs had caught fire and we could not go down. There were no stairs, already burnt,” said omondi.

“We went back inside and decided that let us just die, together with my wife and child. In the middle of the house, we held hands together,” he said.

“I went where the child was, and started praying. I saw the child raise the hand and i think somebody grabbed the child and rushed to hospital,” he said.

But is wife never made it out. “looking back, the mother had gone, burnt in the house,” he said, struggling with emotions.

A somber atmosphere now hangs in mathare kosovo area, nairobi county after fire ravaged the neighborhood, leaving five people dead and four others injured. The blaze spread rapidly, engulfing a two-storey building and reducing it to ashes. Firefighters arrived at the scene to battle the raging inferno, while emergency teams scoured the ruins, searching for survivors and victims.

“We understand the victims were sleeping when the fire broke out, killing five of them. Four others are in the hospital with serious injuries,” nairobi police boss george sedah said.

According to jeremiah kathan, chairman of mathare 4b, the fire left three adults and two children burned beyond recognition. One man is in critical condition and remains in the intensive care unit, while three other survivors are in stable condition.

Former hospital ward mca george ocholla commended the neighbors’ quick action to mitigate the damage, but sadly, they were unable to save the lives of those who perished in the fire.

Residents are now urging the government to establish fire departments in every constituency, emphasizing that such incidents could have been prevented with better firefighting resources.

Kamukunji mp yusuf hassan confirmed the incident, saying firefighters, with help from local volunteers, responded swiftly to contain the flames.

“A massive fire erupted in the footwear section of gikomba market, adjacent to lamu road in majengo in pumwani at around 3 am. The county fire engine has arrived, and firefighters and local volunteers are battling to squash the inferno,” yusuf said.

“My neighbours also got burnt, others perished and i am told others are in hospital, i don’t know their state. I am pleading for help, i don’t know where to begin, i am injured, my wife has left us. I am asking for help to bury my wife, it is all i am asking for. I am in so much pain and hurting that my wife did not make it out of the inferno alive,” omondi said.

The forensic team is currently investigating the cause of the fire.