This archive report was first published on 21 October 2019.
On Sunday night, a devastating fire swept through Maathai Supermarket in Murang'a town, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The inferno, which began at 10.30 pm, consumed all the goods in the mid-tier supermarket's branch that had closed for the day at 8 pm.
Despite the efforts of authorities and members of the public, it took until 4.30 am to extinguish the flames, with the local fire brigade calling for backup from neighbouring Kirinyaga and Kiambu counties. Murang'a County Police Commander Josphat Kinyua explained that they had sought help from the neighbouring counties when they sensed the local firefighters were overwhelmed.
As the fire raged on, police were forced to fire in the air to dissuade looters who attempted to break into the supermarket. A Kenya Power emergency crew was also forced to cut off electricity supply in most areas of Murang'a town to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
The fire is the second to hit a Maathai Supermarket branch in recent months, with the Ruiru branch suffering a similar fate just three months prior. Investigations are currently underway to determine the cause of the fire, with police collecting samples to be forwarded to government chemists for analysis.
Firefighters remained at the scene to prevent a flare-up of fresh fire after smoke was spotted billowing after 9.30 am.
