Three people have died in two separate fire incidences that left
24 families homeless in Meru.
In the first incident, a
40-year-old woman and her grandchild died after their house caught fire in Kambakia area on Thursday night.
The fire is suspected to have been caused by a stove that was left burning at around 11:00 pm.
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Area chief Mercy Murithi said: "The
grandmother
is said to have been
drunk. She died of Carbon monoxide poisoning."
"I ask people to be vigilant if they are aware they live with or next to a drunkard. If it were not for the
villagers'
efforts, more
destruction
could have been caused."
The bodies were taken to Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue.
A boda boda cyclist, known as Kiambi,
said he was called during the incident and found villagers extinguishing the fire.
Kiambi
said they did not know if there were people inside before they found the bodies.
A neighbour Julia Mwiti said she was woken by villagers alarm and flames of the fire.
"Many thought there was no one in the house that was burning and so, they dealt with putting off the fire but later learnt the two had died," she said.
Mwiti said Meru National Polytechnic students helped in putting
off the fire.
"The students came quickly and advised us to not only rely on water but also use more soil to put it off," she said.
In another separate incident, a child
was burnt to death at Kwa Makara in Timau town, Meru with the
cause of the fire unknown.
Timau Ward MCA Kimathi Collabo said the 10pm fire also destroyed several houses leaving 22 families without shelter.