Kirinyaga residents renew calls for fire engine after two hay fires in one night

The latest incident occurred at Thiba in Mwea, where a lorry transporting hay caught fire at around 11 p.m., forcing residents to rush to the scene to help the driver contain the blaze.

Residents, including Muchemi Muchiri and Stephen Wachira, said they responded immediately after noticing the fire and worked together to prevent it from spreading.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established. While some residents suspected an electrical fault, others said the blaze may have been caused by someone smoking in the section of the lorry carrying the hay.

Traffic police officers from Wang'uru Police Station arrived at the scene and launched investigations into the incident.

The lorry was saved from extensive damage after residents spent about an hour offloading the burning hay and extinguishing the flames.

Residents said they struggled to contain the fire using buckets of water and criticized the Kirinyaga County government for failing to provide a fire engine despite repeated fire incidents in the area.

The Thiba incident came just hours after another fire at Kanyangeini in Ngurubani Town, where hay valued at approximately KSh 5 million was destroyed.

In that incident, firefighters from Embu County responded to help contain the blaze, while the Kirinyaga County government dispatched a water bowser to the scene.

The back-to-back fires have intensified calls from residents for the county government to invest in firefighting equipment to improve emergency response and reduce losses caused by fires.