No casualties in hotel fire incident - county commissioner

Tourists try to put out fire that razed Majlis Hotel in Lamu on December 10, 2016. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri and County Coordinating Police Commander Abdullahi Adan arrived at the scene and helped in extinguishing the inferno.

No casualties have been reported after fire razed a beach resort in Lamu County today morning.

Mr Rimba Masha, The Majlis Beach Resort's head of security, said the fire started at around 10.45am in the kitchen before spreading to the bar.

"I saw huge smoke and then fire in one of the sides of the kitchen roof. We responded quickly and tried to put it out.

"The fire spread fast and it was hard to put out as it moved from the kitchen to the bar area, leaving us scrambling for what we could salvage.

"All this was contributed by the scorching sun and strong winds which fanned the fire,” Mr Masha said.

Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri and County Coordinating Police Commander Abdullahi Adan arrived at the scene and helped in extinguishing the inferno.

"I have received a phone call from one of us that Majlis hotel was on fire.

"Together with Commander Adan we took a team of our officers to assist in putting out the fire.

"We have managed to put the fire out with the help of members of the public. No one died or injured in the incident. As a county, it is high time that we invest more in fire extinguisher machines,” Mr Kanyiri said.

The General Manager Nimu Githahu said the cause of the fire has not been established, and thanked everyone who assisted in dousing the fire.

“Only a section of our hotel has been razed by the fire. We have a strong team which joined us here at the Majlis...we have lost some property.

"However, we will be back on our feet soon. In fact, we will continue receiving bookings ready for the December holidays despite what happened,” Ms Githahu said.

The property is located in Manda Kitau Island.