Night fire destroys shops at Narok North trading centre

An early morning fire destroyed shops and businesses at Kisiriri Trading Centre in Narok North on Sunday.

Traders said property valued at more than Sh1.8 million was razed to the ground.

But police said they were yet to establish the value of the property that was destroyed.

FIRE

Mr George Musuni, who lost two plots with shops, a butchery and a bar, said they suspect an electric fault caused by a nearby transformer.

“The fire broke out at around 2am,” he said.

Mr Musuni said the fire spread fast to the shops, most of which were made of timber.

By the time the county fire engine responded 30 minutes later, nothing could be salvaged, he said.

Trader Julius Maitai said a transformer adjacent to the shops was faulty and they had reported this to Kenya Power several times.

“This transformer has been producing funny sounds for some time now. There are times we see sparks coming from it,” he said.

The Nation efforts to contact Kenya Power over the matter were unsuccessful as our calls went unanswered.

FIREFIGHTERS

There was drama at the scene after the fire brigade truck ran out of water and had to go back to Narok Town, 30 kilometres away, to be refilled.

But a Chinese construction company water bowser helped put out the fire.

Ms Faith Night, a witness, said the fire began in one of the shops and quickly spread to adjacent structures.

"I live in a rental behind one of the plots. I saw some sparks of fire from one shop before hearing an explosion that led to fire spreading to the affected shops," she said.

Narok police boss Joseph Kisombe said they are contacting affected traders to record statements.

He noted that there were no casualties in the incident.