Capital ill-prepared for disasters

The country’s capacity to respond to emergencies was on Wednesday put to the test. Twelve fire engines rushed to the scene in quick succession after the fire outbreak, only for most operators to realise they had no water.

The engines were drawn from the City Council, G4S and Securex security firms, Kenya Airports Authority and the military. Trucks that normally sell water in city estates ended up feeding the fire engines.

An anti-riot truck was also used to try to extinguish the fire that was fuelled by gas cylinder in the store. At one point, the fire engines seemed to be running out of water as the fire spread to the adjacent Alibhai Shariff store.

At the nearby Nation Centre, security guards fixed water pipes in an attempt to save the situation but their water also ran out. Save for Urban Fire Services run by G4S, all the other response teams seemed ill-prepared for the operation.

Most of the fire fighters did not even wear protective gear.