Two people have been confirmed dead following a fire incident that occurred in a residential area of Mlango Kubwa in Mathare, Nairobi.
According to reports, over 300 houses were burnt down during the incident that began in the wee hours of Friday October 8.
Residents said that they did not have enough water to put out the fire that spread quickly.
“The fire started at around 2am and there was a lot of commotion at the time. People were trying to salvage whatever property they could while others were going in to countercheck that their children were out of the houses. The biggest challenge was the lack of water and so residents started using drainage water,” Paul Ng’ang’a Maina, a local leader and political aspirant stated.
Aside from the water problem, accessibility  was also another issue as passageways are not well defined in the area.
Police officers from the Pangani and the neighboring Stations visited the scene to conduct preliminary investigations and to establish the cause of fire.
Locals are now calling on the county government to intervene and help them with temporary residences as they embark on a journey to rebuild their lives.
“Most of us have lost our homes. Our children will also be going back to school next week and their uniforms were destroyed in the fire,” a local said.
A video from the scene shows stranded residents looking through the ruins with their faces displaying despair.
RELATED STORY: Nakuru: Father Loses His Three Children In A House Fire
