Banking block destroyed in night fire

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Othaya Equity bank branch in Nyeri County was last night destroyed by fire whose cause has not been established. The fire that left a trail of losses estimated to run into millions of shillings is believed to have started at around 1.20 am and was detected by the bank’s fire alarm system.

Members of the public, the police and officers from the Nyeri County Fire department promptly responded to the bank’s distress call and managed to put out the fire before it could spread to adjacent buildings. No one was hurt in the night blaze that was eventually put out at around 4 am.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Bank has confirmed the incident and advised customers of the temporary closure of the Othaya branch following the incident.  To access services, customers have been advised to seek banking services at the nearby Kiriani or Mukurwe-ini branches as plans get underway to uncover the cause of the incident.

Equity has also encouraged customers to access their accounts through its range of digital services, including mobile banking apps, online platforms, and ATMs.

“To Our Esteemed Customers. We wish to notify you that there was a fire incident at our Othaya Branch, which was reported at 1.30 a.m. following a fire detector alarm. We advise our Othaya Branch customers to access banking services at our Kiria-ini, Nyeri, or Mukurwe-ini branches. You can also access your account by dialing *247#, using Equitel, the Equity Mobile App, or Equity Cards,” read a statement from the bank.

Nyeri County Police Commander David Too told KNA a multi-agency team has been dispatched to the scene to unearth what could have caused the blaze. He promised to give a comprehensive report once the team working at the site is through with investigations.

 “We cannot comment on anything in regard to the cause of the fire until we get a comprehensive report from the team working at the site. Once we ascertain the cause and the extent of the damage, we will come back to brief on the matter,” said the Police boss.

Equity Bank is one of the fastest growing financial institutions in Kenya’ sector with an impressive customer base and extensive branch network. The Bank currently operates over 211 branches in the country with 52 of them being in Nairobi. As of the second quarter of 2024, Equity Bank boasted an impressive customer base of over 20.1 million and an asset base worth sh1.75 trillion, making it the largest bank in Kenya.

In May last year the bank registered a 21 per cent growth with total assists reaching Sh 1,537.7 billion. Customer deposits also marked a 22 per cent growth to stand at Sh 1,111.2 billion up from Sh 900.9 billion the previous year. On the other hand, the loan book grew to Sh.756.3 billion up from Sh 623.6 billion the previous year.