Traders count losses after shops razed down

Some of the shops that were burnt down in Rodi Kopany Township, Homa Bay Sub-county on August 25, 2024. [James Omoro]

Property of unknown value was destroyed when about 10 shops were burnt in an inferno incident in Rodi Kopany Township, Homa Bay Sub-county.

The fire broke out early Sunday and destroyed the property.

The inferno broke out after midnight when business operators had closed their shops. The incident caused serious losses to traders whose property was destroyed.

One of the traders who incurred serious losses in the incident was Amos Okoth. Okoth owned a shop that was selling utensils, shoes and mattresses.

The incident occurred when Okoth had gone home after closing his business activities.

He was informed of the incident by residents who noticed the fire in his shop.

'I got a phone call that my shop had caught fire. I left my house and rushed to the scene," Okoth said.

His efforts to salvage his property proved futile since the building was already overwhelmed by the fire.

"The fire was so intense that I could not save anything. All my property was burnt in the incident,' Okoth added.

He said most property in buildings that caught fire was reduced to ashes.

Efforts of the residents to call firefighters from Homa Bay Town to save the situation proved futile since the firefighters arrived late.

"The firefighters arrived when all the property in the buildings had been razed down. Suppose they arrived earlier, some traders would have saved their property in the incident,' said Okoth.

Kanyango Location Chief Samuel Nyagwara confirmed the incident.

Nyagwara said investigators had not established the cause of the inferno.

He said he had liaised with police who had commenced investigations into the incident.

"The cause of the fire has not been known but investigations are going on," Nyagwara said.

He said the late response of firefighters aggravated damages in the incident.

'The firefighters were called but they arrived at the scene one hour later. Their firefighting engine also ran out of water before containing the fire,' Nyagwara added.