Some traders claimed that the local fire brigade was called to the scene shortly after the fire, but that the vehicle was not receiving water without confirming the cause.
Several stalls and vendors are counting losses on June 11, 2023 due to the massive fire that engulfed Kibra’s Toi Market
A massive fire engulfed the Toi Market on Sunday morning, forcing dozens of vendors to calculate their losses. The fire reportedly broke out in one of the stalls after an electrical fault around 1am. Sunday.
“The fire started around 1am and security told us it was due to an electrical fault,” one of the traders told the media. Another vendor at a stall that was destroyed by the fire said 3,000 stalls were reduced to ashes.
“We got a call around 1:00am but we couldn’t get that far and the shop was set on fire. We were selling pillows, cushions, blankets, etc. “Around 3,000 stalls were damaged,” the vendor said.
The Nairobi Fire Department quickly arrived to try to extinguish the fire.However, their efforts were hampered by roads and narrow lanes that cut through the market stalls, restricting access.
Traders who arrived at the scene said the firefighters were forced to work on the main road while firefighters tried to put out the blaze.
“They came and stopped on the road… You can’t enter the market and fences have been erected everywhere,” said a vendor at the scene. Some residents claimed that fire trucks arrived at the scene shortly after the fire broke out, but there was no water without giving reasons.
“How do you get a truck without water? I saw it and three came and asked to bring water from Nairobi water” asked one of the vendors.
Traders are asking the government to take protective measures to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future.
