Several vehicles were destroyed in a fire at a garage off Ole Dume Road, with firefighters battling the blaze for more than four hours.
Several vehicle owners and mechanics in Kilimani, Nairobi, are counting losses after a fire tore through a garage off Ole Dume Road on Monday night, destroying a number of vehicles and leaving some cars burned beyond repair.
The fire broke out at the garage along Muringa Road, off Ole Dume Road, and quickly spread through the premises where vehicles and other materials were being stored.
Nairobi County Chief Officer for Customer Service Geoffrey Mosiria confirmed the incident on Tuesday morning, saying the county’s emergency centre received a distress call and immediately dispatched fire engines and disaster response teams.
According to Mosiria, the firefighting operation lasted for more than four hours before the blaze was brought under control.
“The fire took more than four hours to contain because it involved vehicles, petrol, and many other highly flammable materials stored inside the garage.”
The presence of petrol and other flammable materials made the response particularly difficult, with firefighters having to work in dangerous conditions as the flames spread through the garage.
Several vehicles destroyed
The fire left several vehicles badly damaged, with some reportedly reduced to shells and others burned beyond repair.
The exact number of vehicles destroyed had not been established by Tuesday morning, and authorities had also not released a final assessment of the financial losses.
Mosiria, however, said the damage was significant and that both mechanics working at the garage and customers who had left their vehicles there had been affected.
K24 Digital reported that the garage had more than 200 mechanics, while Mosiria said the value of the vehicles and other property destroyed could run into millions of shillings.
For vehicle owners, the damage was particularly painful because some of the cars were at the garage for repairs and were not expected to be involved in an incident of this nature.
Firefighters battle flames for hours
Nairobi County emergency teams, disaster management officers, mechanics and local residents joined efforts to contain the fire.
Mosiria described the operation as difficult and dangerous, particularly because of the presence of vehicles, petrol and other combustible materials within the premises.
He praised the emergency teams for remaining at the scene until the fire was brought under control and also acknowledged residents and mechanics who assisted during the response.
“It was a very difficult and dangerous operation, but our teams worked tirelessly to bring the situation under control.”
The county official later expressed sympathy to the mechanics and vehicle owners who lost property in the incident.
Cause of Kilimani garage fire remains unknown
Despite the extent of the destruction, authorities have not yet established what caused the fire.
Mosiria said the cause would have to be determined by experts, meaning claims about what may have triggered the blaze should be treated with caution until investigations are completed.
There has been no official confirmation that the fire was caused by an electrical fault, fuel leak, negligence or arson.
The exact value of the property destroyed also remains unknown.
Fire raises questions over garage safety
The Kilimani incident has once again drawn attention to the fire risks associated with vehicle repair yards, where cars are often kept alongside fuel, engine oils, spare parts and other materials that can intensify a fire once it starts.
In a busy garage environment, containing a fire can also become difficult if vehicles are parked close together or access for emergency crews is limited.
For now, however, the immediate concern remains the losses suffered by the mechanics and customers whose vehicles were inside the garage.
As authorities work to establish the cause of the fire and assess the full extent of the damage, affected vehicle owners are left with the difficult task of determining what can be salvaged and how much they have lost.
The incident occurred on Monday night, September 7, with the firefighting operation continuing for several hours before the blaze was contained.
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