Why fire-fighters had to be called from their homes

By MARTIN MUTUA

KENYA: Airport staffers who noticed smoke in the small hours of Wednesday morning first called in some electricians instead of alerting fire-fighters, we can report.

This is one of the reasons that the fire, believed to have started before 4am, grew into a blaze that was too large for fire-fighters to control.

Impeccable sources say there were no fire-fighters on duty at either the main fire station near the terminals or the two sub-stations on the airport runway from about midnight. They had to be fetched from their homes around the city.

“When we saw smoke coming from a kitchen between Arrival One and Two, we alerted the (Kenya Airports Authority) electricians,” says an Immigration official who asked not to be named.

“When they realised it could get out of hand they went to fetch the fire-fighters. But, to their shock, they were nowhere to be seen.”

It has emerged that the building’s ageing electrical system often required interventions to prevent electrical fires. The standard practice has been to call in KAA electricians rather than firefighters because the latter are only on duty when major airlines have flights departing or arriving.

Our sources say KAA firefighters routinely leave the airport between midnight and dawn when there are no flights by two major airlines that are sticklers for International Civil Aviation Organisation fire safety rules.

“The moment the British Airways and Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) flights leave at around midnight, the firefighters also leave,” our source told us. “They return at around 6am when there is another BA flight.”

Other officials who have recorded statements with the police disclosed that the fire was noticed at around 4.30am. Firefighters had to be fetched from their houses and arrived at 5.30am, when it was too late.

“This was pure negligence by the KAA and has nothing to do with anybody else,” added the sources. “We have told the police as much.”

The sources further noted that contractors who had been painting the walls within the same building had also left paint behind the same kitchen. This could have helped fuel the inferno. The sources said when they saw the smoke and alerted the electricians, they were told to leave the area.