Eldoret council in need of backup

Although Eldoret is considered one of the local authorities with the best fire-fighting equipment in the North Rift, its workers rarely fight fires on their own. The officers usually get a helping hand from Eldoret International Airport, Kenya Pipeline Corporation or Raiply Company.

The council’s fire department has two lorries and a Land Rover and is waiting to be supplied with an engine worth Sh20 million from America. The council’s lack of capacity to deal with big fires was shown recently when property worth millions of shillings went up in flames at KenKnit textile mills.

The fire gutted two warehouses on the Eldoret-Nakuru road but it could have spread had fire engines from the airport, KPC and Raiply not stepped in. Speaking to the Nation, Eldoret Town Clerk Stanislus Ondimu admitted that they were sometimes overwhelmed with fires.

The council has 28 fire-fighters, who work on shifts. At any one time, there are only six on duty. The council needed about 60 workers in the fire station to deal with fires effectively, Mr Ondimu said.

The clerk said the council’s fire station was the best in the North Rift. His fire-fighters were at times called to deal with emergencies in Kitale, Bungoma, Kapsabet and others in western Kenya. “The fire engines and personnel we have are few but they are better equipped in western Kenya, that is why we usually respond to emergencies in the region,” Mr Ondimu said.

He said the acquisition of the new modern engine would boost the town’s capacity to deal with fires. The council did not pay the whole Sh20 million because it is a donation from the US. It only paid Sh5 million for shipment.

Five fire sub-stations would be set up in the town for faster response to fires, especially when there were traffic jams, he said. Mr Ondimu said the council was working to open up some of the town’s 18 hydrants that do not work. The council was looking into ways of getting a new ambulance because the one it had was old, he said.