The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has issued an update regarding a huge fire that ravaged a section of the vast Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) grassland.
In an update on Friday, February 21, night, KAA said that the fire incident which started at around 7.30 pm destroying a section of the grassland surrounding JKIA has been successfully contained.
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“A coordinated response team, comprising the KAA Airport Rescue & Fire Fighting Service, the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), National Police Service, Kenya Pipeline, Nairobi County Fire Unit, KK Security and G4S worked diligently to bring the fire under control, leading to successful containment,” read part of the statement.
KAA issues update on JKIA grassland fire
The authority further confirmed that the fire was confined to non-operational grassland areas and did not impact any critical infrastructure or operational zones of JKIA.
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According to KAA, all airport activities, including flight schedules, passenger processing, and cargo handling, remain fully operational and were unaffected throughout the incident.
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“We would like to thank all teams involved in the response for their dedication and swift action which ensured the safety of our passengers and facilities while minimizing disruption,” added KAA.
The fire which was reported by the Kenya Red Cross on Friday night burnt part of the airport grassland towards 75 Airport North Road near Tajmall area.
Preliminary reports also indicated that flames of fire were spreading towards the airport’s runway.
In a statement, Kenya Red Cross stated it had deployed emergency and disaster response to the scene to extinguish the fire and to avert the looming danger at the international airport.
“Emergency response teams are on-site battling a grassland fire inside JKIA, along Airport North Road, Nairobi County” the agency said on X.
“Efforts are underway to contain the blaze and prevent further spread.”
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Grassland fires in Garissa and Isiolo
The JKIA fire comes days after another blaze ravaged huge sections of grasslands in Garissa County.
Kenya Red Cross on Wednesday night said that the fire broke out in Modogashe, Eresaburu, and Gurufu along the Isiolo-Garissa border.
Although the relief agency did not indicate what time the inferno erupted, early reports indicated the fire broke out at around midday Wednesday.
This was barely a month after a wildfire burnt huge acres of grassland Isiolo County.
The inferno swept through parts of two sub-counties in the County affecting approximately 2,500 hectares of forest.
The Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration, Raymond Omollo, in an update on January 27 stated that the government had managed to contain the fierce fire which began on January 17.
Speaking in Sericho Omollo while noting that the raging inferno had primarily destroyed animal pasture in Cherab and Garbatulla sub-counties issued a stern warning to locals against the reckless lighting of fires.
The PS reported that emergency teams arrived in the two vast areas immediately after the fires broke out in the southern part of Ewaso Nyiro, spreading from Guthuba and Biliqi towards Dadacha Basa and Sericho areas.
“The various emergency teams have done a commendable job. They managed to completely contain the fires yesterday and are now monitoring the situation,” he said.
Omollo further identified the most affected areas as Sericho, Bandana, Dadacha Basa, Eleturku, and Merti, about 300 kilometers from Isiolo town.
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