A fire on Friday morning razed down the Jomo Kenyatta Children’s Home in Embu, hosting Over 30 children living with various forms of disabilities.
According to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), no one was injured and the 12 children at the home were evacuated to safety while the rest are said to have gone home for the mid-term break.
The home established 48 years ago is run by Kenya Red Cross Embu Branch.
KRS Embu County Coordinator in Charge of Embu and Kirinyaga Martin Kagunda said the fire started at an office near the main entrance to the home and spread quickly to the adjacent structures including the kitchen and dormitory.
He said they could only evacuate the children to safety and salvage a few items before all the structures were engulfed in fire, leading to losses running into millions of shillings.
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“The damage is extensive and we do not know where the children will spend the night and how we shall accommodate the others who are set to come back on Monday after the mid-term break,” he said.
Further, he revealed that the fire was put out by the intervention of neighboring Tharaka Nithi County, which sent two fire extinguishers.
Questions linger about the preparedness of the Embu County Government in disaster response, as all three fire Engines are said to be broken down.
“We called the County Government and they were able to get us fire engines from Tharaka Nithi County that arrived two hours later,” Kagunda said.
The cause of the fire has not been established, and authorities commenced investigations.
