Residents of Maina village in Nyahururu have asked the Laikipia county government to station firefighters there, citing frequent fire outbreaks. They spoke at the weekend after several families were left homeless following a blaze in the village that abuts the Nyahururu-Rumuruti highway, just outside Nyahururu.

This was the 11th fire in the area this year, residents said. Led by Nyumba Kumi chairman Macharia Kahwai, they said the 4am Friday fire started in one of the houses.

The cause had not been identified. Inaccessible areas they said the fires had caused extensive damage and loss of property before fire engines arrived from Nyahururu.

“Because most houses are built of timber, the fires spread fast and the fire engine normally arrives when the damage is already done,” Kahwai said. Residents appealed for help, saying they had lost food items, beddings, clothing, utensils, books, uniforms and important personal documents.

 In the weekend incident, fire brigade personnel found it hard to reach the scene because a contractor upgrading roads in the village had closed most roads with boulders.

 Children’s deaths Firefighters had to use a longer route to get to the scene. In July, two children, aged four and seven, died when a fire broke out in a house in the village. The children were alone in one of the eight rooms of the timber house.