Ms Mary Nyambura, a nurse at Heni Health Centre in Kinangop, had expected Tuesday night to be like any other routine night to relax with her children after a hard day's work.
At around 7.30pm, Ms Nyambura stepped out of her house at the staff quarters to buy milk at a nearby shopping centre, leaving her two children, Njeri, 4, and Ann, 6, to play in the house.
Little did she know that all hell was about to break loose. Ten minutes later, tragedy struck.
A fire broke out and engulfed the house, killing her two children and reducing her belongings to ashes in an incident that has left the neighbourhood in mourning.
On Wednesday morning, her house -- within the staff quarters of the health facility -- smelled of burnt wood and melted plastic.
On Tuesday night, residents, medics and the children's mother watched helplessly as the fire consumed the entire first floor of the wooden staff quarters where the two minors were trapped.
Ms Peris Mwangi, the Chief Health Officer who was at the scene, said, "She went to the shop to buy some things for dinner, including milk, and left the children to play. It was very early in the evening and she had nothing to fear. When she returned, she found that the fire had started with the children trapped inside. The inferno had engulfed the whole house."
"The fire spread very fast; it was impossible to contain it on time. We lost the two minors. They were trapped in the house. The fire started at about 7.40pm,” she added.
Neighbours tried to put out the fire with water, but due to the strong winds in the area, the inferno spread quickly, engulfing the entire first floor of the house.
Standing in the charred remains of her once-happy home on Wednesday morning, Ms Nyambura was overwhelmed and unable to recount the agonising moments of the tragedy.
Leaders and residents were angered by the late arrival of the fire engine from neighbouring Naivasha Town in Nakuru County, which arrived more than two hours after the fire broke out.
“This is very painful; we have had rampant fire incidents in Nyandarua. The county government should prioritise buying fire equipment for each sub-county. Firefighting equipment is not a luxury; we need firefighting equipment stationed at Engineer Town, Miharati, Ndaragua, Ol Kalou, and Ol Jori Orok sub-counties,” said Nyandarua Woman Representative Faith Gitau.
“We have had to rely on firefighters from Laikipia and Nakuru Counties anytime there is a fire incident. It's a cumbersome process requesting fire equipment from neighbouring counties, and a lot of damage is already done by the time the equipment is released to Nyandarua.”
She also expressed concern that firefighters from neighbouring counties were unfamiliar with Nyandarua roads, which meant they took longer to reach the scene.
“We stand with the victims and send my condolence to the nurse who lost her children... It is such a big loss and pain to lose two children as a mother watches helplessly. I feel her pain,” said Ms Gitau.
Mr Simon Kanyi, a resident and an eyewitness, said the fire started in a house on the first floor of the staff quarters complex before spreading to other houses.
“The hospital has enough water but we could not fight the fire since it erupted from the first floor of the building,” he said.
“I heard the call of distress coming from the health centre, I then spotted the fire. I rushed to the scene but the fire was too much for us. It originated from the first floor of the building, making it impossible for us to fight it. We watched helplessly as the fire spread to other houses. Most of the occupants were helped to escape but they were not able to salvage anything,” she said.
The Health Chief Officer said, “The county team arrived at the fire scene soon after it was reported until the fire was contained, but the families lost everything. It’s a painful and regrettable incident. The county government is working on how to support the nurse and her children and the families that lost everything in the fire. As a government, we stand with the victims and assure them of full support from the county government.”
County Commissioner Abdirisack Jaldesa sent a message of condolence to the nurse. He added that an investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the fire.
