NAIROBI, Kenya, May 4 – Property worth millions of shillings have been destroyed by fire at Sarit Centre shopping mall.
The fire started from Copy Express, a printing shop based on the ground floor and quickly spread to other upper floors.
Some of shops adversely affected according to authorities include Bata and Twiga tours offices.
Most tenants didn’t have time to salvage anything since they left hurriedly to save their lives.
“I had just restocked my shop with pianos worth millions,” a tenant told Capital News.
The expansive shopping complex located in Westlands host high end businesses.
Hundreds of workers could be rendered jobless.
Authorities suspect it was as a result of an electric fault.
The fire, tenants and workers say was small when the first fire engine arrived but only spread, “while they were here. The water wasn’t enough.”
The fire fighters also didn’t have safety paraphernalia, posing a serious danger to their lives.
They only got gas masks when the situation had escalated.
-Panic during evacuation-
“It was a near death experience…” Michelle Richter, a tenant told Capital FM News.
Together with her staff, Ritcher were attending clients in her beauty shop, when they were asked to evacuate.
But before, they could smell “cables burning” but maintained their calm, “after we checked our kitchen and found all was well.”
Fear stricken workers walked down stairs with difficulties since visibility had been reduced “to zero”.
In her case, she used hands to find her way out.
Other people thought the mall was under an attack.
Though smoke could be seen billowing from the building by 3pm, security officers who spoke to Capital FM News say the fire had been contained.
