Uasin Gishu County Member of Parliament Gladys Boss Shollei has express her disbelieve how it took long for Nairobi firefighters to respond to Toi market inferno.
Boss Shollei says the fire engine should be placed at a strategic point where it will be ease to respond to infernos.
” I wonder why a fire engine should be parked somewhere in the city centre which already has water hoses should there be a fire, that fire engine should have been near Gikomba or Toi market where the risk is higher”
It is reported that the flames broke out at 3am on Tuesday and by 6am, they had reduced to ashes property worth millions of shillings.
By 6.30am, the flames were still spreading fast and shanties, including those in residential areas, could be seen smouldering after being reduced to ashes.
Clouds of black smoke could also be seen billowing from make-shift stalls that were used to store bales of apparel overnight.
The open-air market, famous for used clothes, fresh produce, artefacts and toys, is located on the outskirts of Kibera slum, one of the biggest informal settlements in Africa.
The market with more than 5,000 small-scale traders sits on a four-acre plot on Suna Road and there have been plans by the Nairobi City County government to erect modern houses on the parcel.