About five traders with business shops at Chimoi trading center in Matete Sub County are counting loses estimated to be over Kshs. 1 million after a fierce fire gutted down their premises on Monday night. According to the premise owner Mrs. Asha Naliaka Shitanda, the affected building housed four different outlets including a shop, hotel, M-PESA kiosk and a barber shop.
She said the fire broke out at around 11:30 pm when all her tenants had closed their business and gone home. Mrs. Shitanda who lives in an adjacent building and run a hotel in the affected building said she heard a loud bang outside and when she went to see what was happening, she was shocked to see her business premises engulfed in flames.
She said the cause of the fire was yet to be known saying before she closes her hotel, she always ensures everything is fine but it was surprising it started on top of the hotel.
She said nothing was salvaged from the building, claiming she lost property worth over Kshs 600,000. Tens of residents who woke up to help her put off the fire couldn’t do anything due to a lack of water and equipment to contain the fire and just watched helplessly.
They said their efforts to reach Kakamega county firefighters were futile as the officers ignored their distress call and never turned up. Other traders who owned businesses in the building also lost their property valued at over Kshs. 300, 000.
Paul Munyiri Mureithi, a shopkeeper in the next building was not spared either as the fire spread into his bedroom destroying his beddings and other vital documents worth over Kshs. 80,000.
According to Mureithi the fire spread into his shop through the window. “After learning of the fire on my neighbour’s building I went out to try and help put it off without knowing it had spread into my shop through the window, I came back and managed to contain it before it consumed the whole shop but it had already done a lot of damage in my
bedroom” he said.
Residents have appealed to both Kakamega County government and the national government to put up a fire brigade station either in Lugari or Malava where they can be easy reached when such calamity struck.