The great escape

Late into the night, relatives were calling the Nation Centre complaining that they were unable to trace relatives who had been around the supermarket. Top government officials visited the scene, including Internal security minister George Saitoti and Nairobi Provincial Commissioner James Waweru.

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Prof Saitoti said the government response to disasters was not satisfactory and a lot of improvement was needed. “This is not the time to blame anybody but to thank all the stakeholders in the fire fighting industry such as the Army, Air Force, Police, City Council, private security agencies and the public, for responding to this situation,” said the minister.

And Maj Gen Ali said the priority was to put out the fire and evacuate casualties. “Then we will join other experts to investigate its cause. If any foul play is suspected, we shall arrest perpetrators and prosecute them accordingly,” he said.

Six people treated

Nairobi Metropolitan minister Mutula Kilonzo, his Local Government counterpart Musalia Mudavadi, Special Programmes Permanent Secretary Abdi Ali, and his Local Government counterpart Sammy Kirui, and Nairobi Mayor Geoffrey Majiwa were also at the scene.

Six people were treated at the Kenyatta National Hospital, according to the hospital’s chief executive, Dr Jotham Micheni, said. Two of them had serious injuries. One broke his leg after jumping from the first floor of the burning supermarket and the other one was knocked down by a panicked motorist fleeing the fire.

Dr Micheni said the rest of the people were treated for shock and panic while others appeared to have inhaled smoke. “The two who were seriously injured have been admitted while the rest are under observation,” the official said.

While trading on the floor of the Nairobi Stock Exchange was not interrupted, other services such as the release of market statistics were delayed. NSE headquarters and ceremonial trading floor is housed at the first floor of the Nation Centre.

Trading session

“Please note that due to unavoidable circumstances, today’s pricelist and the market report will be delayed,” read a press release from the NSE trading department that attempted to reassure the market. “We expect to dispatch it before commencement of the next trading session today.”

It was second time that Atul Shah family, which owns the Nakumatt chain of supermarkets, has been faced by bad luck in the last four months.

Last October, one of the supermarket’s branches was demolished to pave way for the expansion of Thika Road. Police said that they could not confirm if anyone had died in the fire. Mr Eric Kirathe, the police spokesman, said a head count was being conducted to establish if anyone was missing.

However, it would be difficult to know how many customers were in the supermarket when the fire broke out and how many escaped. The Woolworths House, at the junction of Kimathi street and Kenyatta avenue was burnt to a shell.

Firefighters arrived at the scene in less than 15 minutes but were unable to bring the fire under control for more than three hours. As the firemen fought the flames, exploding gas cylinders fed the inferno. On several occasions the fire fighters had to rush to refill their engines.