Families left homeless after fire razes 70 timber houses

About 200 people were left homeless after a fire razed their timber houses at Batian village in Timau, Meru County.

More than 70 houses were reduced to ashes by the Thursday evening inferno that was intensified by windy weather, which made rescue efforts difficult.

Property estimated to be worth Sh3 million was reduced to ashes in the 2pm incident.

The houses are mostly occupied by families of those who work in nearby flower farms.

A fire engine from Meru town arrived when it was too late and the angry residents chased the fire fighters, accusing them of laxity towards disaster preparedness.

A house that was demolished during a 2pm inferno in Batian, Timau, which razed down 70 units and displacing more than 200 people, July 2, 2015. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

NO INJURIES
According to the owner of the houses, Mr John Mwirichia, no one was injured during the incident.

Mr Mwirichia decried the slow response of the fire department who took close an hour to arrive at the scene.

“We could have saved some household items if the fire fighters were here on time. After making frantic calls, we were informed that the Nanyuki fire engine had broken down while the one from Meru took long to arrive. Tenants were left watching helplessly as the fire engulfed their property,” he told the Nation.

He said the cause of the fire was, however, not yet established but preliminary investigations pointed to an electric fault.

One of the victims, Mr Lawrence Muthuri, said he only managed to salvage a charcoal jiko (stove).

“We are glad nobody was injured during the incident. The greatest worry is where to relocate to,” said Mr Muthuri who is a driver in one of the local flower farms.

The workers complained that some of them lost their salaries in the inferno as they had just been paid.

Women carry their household goods at Batian in Timau after an inferno which razed down 70 units, July 02, 2015. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NATION MEDIA GROUP