Three people died following a nighttime fire that destroyed rental houses in the Gituamba area of Gitaru, Kiambu County.
Preliminary reports indicated that the fire broke out on Wednesday, February 19, at around 8:30 p.m. Neighbors rushed to the scene to contain the flames before county fire engines arrived.
Witnesses said the bodies of the three victims, all young children, were discovered by neighbors after the fire was extinguished. The children were burned beyond recognition.
According to reports, two of the children aged six and four perished while trying to open a locked door, while the third, a three-month-old baby girl, died in the bedroom.
First responders revealed that the parents of the children were not home at the time of the fire and had locked them inside.
Gitaru night fire
One of the responders urged parents to always ensure their young children are left under proper supervision.
“I would like to ask those people going out to hustle—we know times are tough—but it’s important to ensure that you leave your children under someone’s care. As we have seen, the bodies of the kids were near the door, meaning they were trying to get out. But because the door had been locked from the outside, they could not manage to escape,” said a responder at the scene.
“To parents, if you have neighbors, ask them to watch over your children when you leave.”
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Eight rental houses were also completely razed by the inferno, leaving families homeless and destroying all their belongings.
Photos seen by The Kenya Times depicted the charred remains of the structures and household items including furniture and personal effects which were reduced to rubble, highlighting the impact of the blaze.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) homicide department arrived at the scene moments later.
The cause of the fire had been estimated at the time of publishing.
Kiambu fire burns down building
The tragic Gitaru incident happened days after another night fire burnt down a storey building still in Kiambu County.
The fire which broke out on Sunday, February 16, 2025, destroyed a section of Pettans Technical College (PTC) main campus in Kiambu town.
Kenya Red Cross while confirming the incident at around 2250hrs said that some of its responders in coordination with a multi-agency team made up by officials from the County government and National Police Service (NPS) officers were working to put out the fire.
“Emergency response teams are battling a fire that broke out near Pettans Technical College in Kiambu. The Kenya Red Cross Action Team, Kenya Police and the County Fire Brigade are on the ground, working to contain it,” Kenya Red Cross said.
Also Read: Night Fire Burns Down College Storey Building
In videos seen by The Kenya Times, the fire was seen burning down parts of Pettans Plaza which hosts the college campus while residents watched from a distance as the firefighters tried to put out the fire.
Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi also confirmed the incident mentioning 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.
The residents however criticized the County fire department’s slow response adding that the fire engines arrived to handle the situation with insufficient water.
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