Tragedy as three children die in house fire

Three minors were killed on Wednesday night after fire gutted eight houses at Gituamba, Gitaru in Kiambu county.

Witnesses said the children aged eight months, four and six years were discovered by neighbours after the fire was extinguished.

The inferno, which broke out at around 8.30pm, swept through rental houses made of timber and corrugated iron sheets, reducing them to ashes and leaving a trail of grief in its wake.

Neigbhours told The Standard that the parents locked the children in the house at night and went out to look for work.

When The Standard caught up with them, the dumbfounded parents were unable to speak about the tragic loss of their children.

Kabete OCPD Anthony Mbogo said nothing was salvaged in the inferno and the three bodies were removed to Thogoto morgue awaiting autopsy.

“We have launched investigations to ascertain the cause of the fire,” Mbogo said, adding that detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are combing through the debris for clues.

Neighbours revealed that two of the children’s bodies were found near the door, an indication they perished while trying to open the locked door.

“Two of the bodies were near the door, meaning they were trying to get out but found the exit locked from the outside. This thwarted their efforts to escape death,” said a witness.
Martin Muturi, a neighbour, said  the charred bodies were burned beyond recognition due to delayed rescue mission.

“We were torn between battling the fire and breaking into the house which was on fire. If the door was left open, the two children would have saved themselves or our efforts would have saved them,” he said.

“The fire erupted suddenly, sending us into a frantic attempt to douse the flames before county fire engines arrived. But when the smoke finally cleared, we discovered three little bodies lay lifeless, burned beyond recognition,” another witness said.

Mary Wambui, a resident of the area, urged parents to always ensure their young children are left under proper supervision.

“To parents, if you have neighbours, ask them to watch over your children when you leave. We did everything we could to stop the raging fire from extending, only to realize we had lost lives. It is too painful,” Wambui said.

A multi-agency team made up of officials from the Kenya Red Cross Action Team and National Police Service (NPS) officers worked with residents to put out the fire.

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi also confirmed the incident, saying that the county emergency team were at the scene.

“This evening, a building in Kiambu Town caught fire. The Kiambu County government’s disaster management unit was deployed to the scene. More updates to follow,” Wamatangi said.
However, by the time emergency teams from the county fire brigade got to the scene, the damage had been done.

Eight houses were completely destroyed, leaving several families homeless.

James Maina, a neighbour, faulted the county fire department for taking too long to respond only to arrive with insufficient water.