CBD hydrants don’t work

Most of the fire hydrants in the city centre do not work and firefighters putting out the inferno that engulfed Nakumatt Downtown on Wednesday had to get water from Nyayo Stadium — about three kilometres away.

Although firefighters from the Nairobi City Council were the first on the scene, their trucks ran out of water barely half an hour after their arrival.

According to G4S fire services manager Clive Lee, a city by-law also prohibits private fire fighting companies from drawing water from the hydrants under the Nairobi City Council.

“The hydrants haven’t worked for the last 20 years,” said Mr Lee. Vehicles parked near the building had to be lifted out of the way for the trucks to gain access. Surging crowds gathered at the scene made things even more difficult.

The fire trucks also had to contend with a huge traffic jam on Uhuru Highway.

Raise matter

Nairobi mayor Geoffrey Majiwa said that the matter would be raised at the next board meeting of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.

However, the firefighters, who had brought down part of the wall at the back of the building so as to fight the fire better, had to retreat when they discovered that three unexploded gas cylinders were still in the burning building.