Tragedy
Property of unknown value was destroyed after a midnight fire gutted down ten kiosks at Daraja Mbili market in Kisii town.
Police reports indicated that the incident occurred at around midnight but by the time the County Disaster Management team extinguished the fire, all the assorted goods in the kiosks had already been consumed by the inferno.
The report indicated that there were no injuries and the cause of the fire was suspected to be arson. Speaking to KNA at the market on Friday, Brian Mutua who sells mattresses and trousers said his goods worth Sh. 150,000 had been completely burnt leaving him hopeless.
Mutua blamed the response team for laxity saying they were forced to use alternative sources of water to put out the fire as they waited for them to arrive, but their efforts bore no fruits. He called for quick response from the county government whenever such incidents occur.
Rael Boyani, a kitchen utensils seller, noted that all her goods worth Sh.80,000 were ravaged by fire, adding the incident occurred barely a year after another fire destroyed her properties. “Last year’s fire incident forced me to take up a loan and restock my shop. The new stock has now been destroyed again by fire,” she lamented.
Ms. Boyani urged the county government to equip the fire department with the necessary tools to enable them to perform their work effectively. Another trader who lost her goods Phanice Kemunto, noted that some members of the public took advantage of the situation to steal property from the scene.
Kemunto pointed out that she had incurred a great loss since her pool table worth Sh.27,000 was broken and her savings amounting to Sh.5000 was also taken by unknown people. “It will cost me a good amount of money to restore my business, purchase a new pool table, mend my premise and pay the technician,” she said.
The trader called on the security agencies to act with speed whenever such tragic events happen to minimize those who take advantage of such incidents to loot the premises.