Property worth millions of shillings was on Thursday morning razed down when the the Garissa county assembly chambers were razed down by fire.
The 8.20 am fire is said to have started at the assembly chambers before quickly spreading to adjacent two store building MCAs offices. Both buildings were extensively damaged.
It took the Garissa fire brigade who are about five kilometers away. It took them 45 minutes to arrive at the scene. By then the fire had spread to the MCAs offices.
A water boozer from the military, that arrived an hour late, could not do much to stop the huge fire.
The cause of the fire could not immediately be ascertained but according to the assembly clerk, Mohamed Santur the building has had ‘faulty’ electric power for quite sometimes.
“Having said that, I don’t want to speculate. It’s for the relevant investigative arms of government to ascertain what exactly caused the fire,” Santur said.
“The losses so far is huge. In my own assessment, at least 40 percent of the buildings in the compound were damaged. However, most important is that we managed to salvage important documents from both chambers and the MCAs offices,” he added.
Efforts by members of the public to put off fire using fire extinguishers and water proved futile as the chambers floors are carpeted and the ceiling is made of painted wood. The MCAs offices are timber pre-fabricated.
The rescues also helped to push out of the compound several vehicles parked next to building to avoid being burned down.
The assembly’s minority leader Mohamed Ali who were among the first to arrive at the scene said the building that houses the MCAs offices also hosts 20 assembly committees and their staff.
“Its regrettable the fire comes at time when we almost to resuming our seating’s on February 8. Our immediate concern is where we shall hold our seating’s,” Ali said
Mohamed Abdi, a watchman at nearby shops said he saw black smoke emanating from the building and out of curiosity run into the compound to establish what was ‘amiss’.
“On arrival i found security officers manning the compound frantically trying to put off the fire. I joined them but we were overwhelmed as the smoke grew thicker, dark and choking,” Abdi said.
Joseph Wambua, a bodaboda rider regretted that it took the fire brigade who are less than five kilometers away over 40 minutes to arrive.
“This is not the first time the fire brigade have let us down. What is even embarrassing is that they run out of water barely minutes after they arrive. They need to put their house in order,” Wambua said.
He said ‘it is now the duty’ of the police and other relevant agencies to establish the cause of the fire.