The establishment which was under renovation by new operators was on fire for almost 30 minutes. Photo/ JOSEPH MURAYA
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 – Property of unknown value was destroyed on Saturday morning in a fire that engulfed a building that previously housed Timers Restaurant on Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi.
The establishment which was under renovation by new operators was on fire for almost 30 minutes without response from the Nairobi Fire brigade which is located only a short distance away on Tom Mboya Street.
Nairobi Central police boss Patrick Oduma said the cause of the fire was yet to be established.
“The fire started at around 9.30am but we are yet to establish the cause because the information that we have at hand is that the building was under repair and was supposed to be opened later this month,” he said.
“We suspect that it could have been electric fault but we have started our investigations,” he added.
There were no casualties reported.
Oduma applauded members of the public for cooperating with the police officers and fire fighters on the ground.
Unlike in many incidences where people block even the way for the fire engine, in this incident crowds watched from a distance, giving way to fire responders.
Nairobi Central Business District Association Chairman David Gachuru who addressed journalists after the fire was contained, questioned the ability of the city in dealing with such emergencies.
“It is completely clear that our capacity to handle such incidences is in question if a small building with a lot of property can catch fire and we are just watching,” he complained.
“This show how our state of preparedness is…fire fighting should be a whole day thing; always alert.”
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