Huge fire destroys tin houses at Central Police Station Nairobi
What you need to know:
- The Nairobi City County Fire Department arrived in three fire engines shortly after the fire started and battled the inferno.
- It took more than two hours to put out the fire that razed the houses to the ground.
A huge fire engulfed tin houses at Central Police Station in Nairobi on Friday morning, reducing some of them to ashes.
More than 80 police officers lost their property.
EXPLOSION
According to witnesses, a gas cooker exploded in one of the tin houses and the fire spread quickly to nearby houses.
Shrapnel of the exploded gas cooker were thrown as far as 100 metres from the scene.
Most of the affected officers were away on duty during the incident.
Remains of tin houses razed to the ground at Central Police Station in Nairobi on February 23, 2018. PHOTO | JAMES KAHONGEH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
FIREFIGHTERS
The Nairobi City County Fire Department arrived in three fire engines shortly after the fire started and battled the inferno.
It took more than two hours to put out the fire.
Most of the officers lost all their household belongings and only a few items were salvaged.
There were no casualties in the incident.
TRAFFIC
Police cordoned off University Way to allow the firefighters put out the fire, causing a huge traffic snarl-up.
Traffic jam along University Way after police closed the road to allow the Nairobi City County Fire Department put out a fire at the Central Police Station on February 23, 2018. PHOTO | JAMES KAHONGEH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
After the fire was put out, police officers stood guard to prevent looting as hundreds of city residents gathered around the scene.
Senior officers at Central Police Station were noncommittal and did not issue a statement.
