Marsabit county does not have a fire station and only has a small engine, which is nonoperational, an official has said.
On Tuesday, a huge fire swept through a section of the market in Marsabit Town.Traders suffered huge losses, some estimated Sh100 million — as there was no fire engine to put it out.
Energy chief officer Shaku Kulamo on Wednesday said the county has set aside Sh20 million to establish a fire station in six months.
She said the work will begin within three months. In the 2019-20 budget, Sh100 million will be allocated to complete the station, Kulamo said.
“The money will be used to purchase a multi-purpose fire engine and train firefighters. We will also establish fire stations in other major towns across the county,” she said.
The small fire engine could not be used put out the Tuesday fire. It was only tested in 2017 but it never used since then.
Kulamo said the engine was donated by the Japanese government in 2017 and is too small. “The fire engine was tested when it was delivered and it worked. However it is a small fire engine that cannot put out the kind of fire we saw,” she said.
However, in 2017 Energy chief officer Ali Guleid, who oversaw testing of the machine, said the county government had purchased the engine for Sh7 million.
Guleid had said it would help in emergencies.
But Kulamo said the engine is too small to be of any help during emergencies.
“It is also clear that we cannot have firefighters when we do not have a station. Furthermore, the donated machine is non-operational,” Kulamo said.
Marsabit Chamber of Commerce chairman Jacob Godana urged business people to take the initiative and acquire fire extinguishers.
He said the county government should also train residents in basic skills for such emergencies, especially as there’s no fire station.
“In Marsabit, the market is quite congested, despite the the fact that the new county modern market is yet to be completed.
It’s possible that the destroyed property was worth Sh100 million.