@ppcheti
Fire incidents in Lamu Island are now a thing of the past since the county government relocated all petrol stations into the Indian Ocean seven years ago.
Before then, gas and petrol were sold in normal shops posing a serious danger to the islanders.
In 2014, a store selling petrol and gas on the seafront went up in flames after suspected arson that destroyed over Sh8 million property.
Fire incidences on the island have previously proved difficult to manage owing to the lack of a fire station and necessary equipment.
The now-famous floating petrol stations are located atop movable boats inside the Indian Ocean and anyone seeking fuel has to board a vessel to make their purchase.
The move has provided the perfect cushion for the island against related fire incidents.
Community leader Alawi Abzwein said residents and traders now operate without fear of when the next fire will be.
“Before, a month wouldn’t go by before a fire incident on the island. It was scary, especially for businesspeople who slept praying they don’t find their shops on fire,” he said.
Boat operators have benefitted a great deal from the move as they can easily fuel their vessels without leaving the ocean.
Mohamed Bini says previously, they had to anchor their boats and walk around the island in search of a fuel shop “which was time-consuming”.
Operators plying long distance shipping between Lamu Island and far-flung islands of Faza, Kizingitini, Mkokoni, Kiwayu, all the way to Kiunga and Ishakani on the border of Lamu and Somalia, have called for the establishment of more floating petrol stations.
Mukhdar Saddat said the biggest challenge is the lack of a reliable refueling mechanism along the channels they ply on the Indian Ocean.
“If you run out of petrol in the middle of the ocean and you didn’t carry extra fuel, you have to call for another boat to buy the fuel and bring it to you hours away,” Saddat said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
