Mrs Mary Nyambura, a nurse at Heni Health Centre in Kinangop, expected Tuesday evening to be a normal evening where she would relax with her children after a hard day at work.

At around 7.30pm, Ms Nyambura left her house with staff quarters to buy milk at a nearby shopping centre, leaving her two children, Njeri (4) and Ann (6), playing inside 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 – an incident that sparked grief in the neighborhood.

On Wednesday morning, her house – located in the staff accommodation area of ​​the health facility – smelled of burnt wood and melted plastic.

Water on the ground testified to the efforts of neighbors and villagers to extinguish the fire.

On Tuesday evening, residents, paramedics and the children’s mother had to watch helplessly as the fire consumed the entire ground floor of the wooden staff house where the two minors were trapped.

Ms Peris Mwangi, the health officer present at the scene of the fire, 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 broken out and the children were trapped inside. The inferno had engulfed the whole house.”

“The fire spread very quickly; it was impossible to contain it in time. We lost the two minors. They were trapped in the house. The fire broke out at around 7.40 p.m.,” she added.

Neighbors tried to extinguish the fire with water, but due to the strong winds in the area, the inferno quickly spread and engulfed the entire ground floor of the house.

As Ms Nyambura stood in the charred remains of her once happy home on Wednesday morning, she was overwhelmed and unable to describe the agonising moments of the tragedy.

Politicians and residents were angry about the delay of the fire engine from the neighboring town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which only arrived more than two hours after the fire broke out.

They say the delays are partly due to the poor condition of the roads.

“This is very painful. Nyandarua has a recurring fire incident. The county government should prioritise the purchase of firefighting equipment for each county. Firefighting equipment is not a luxury. We need firefighting equipment in Engineer Town, Miharati, Ndaragua, Ol Kalou and Ol Jori Orok counties,” said Faith Gitau, Nyandarua MP.

“Whenever there is a fire, we rely on firefighters from Laikipia and Nakuru counties. It is a laborious process to request firefighting equipment from neighbouring counties and by the time the equipment is delivered to Nyandarua, a lot of damage has already been done.”

She also expressed concern that firefighters from neighbouring counties were unfamiliar with Nyandarua’s roads and therefore took longer to arrive on the scene.

“We stand with the victims and express our condolences to the nurse who lost her children… It is such a great loss and pain to lose two children while a mother watches helplessly. I feel her pain,” Ms Gitau said.

Mr Simon Kanyi, a local resident and eyewitness, said the fire started in a house on the first floor of the staff accommodation complex and then spread to other houses.

“The hospital has enough water, but we could not fight the fire because it started from the first floor of the building,” he said.

Ms Winnie Wanjiku said local residents were saddened by the fire accident.

“I heard the emergency call from the health center and then discovered the fire. I rushed to the scene, but the fire was too big for us. It broke out on the first floor of the building so we could not fight it. We watched helplessly as the fire spread to other houses. Most of the residents were helped to escape, but they could not save anything,” she said.

The health chief said, “The county team arrived at the scene soon after the fire was reported and managed to control the fire. However, the families have lost everything. It is a painful and unfortunate incident. The county government is working to support the nurse and her children as well as the families who lost everything in the fire. As a government, we stand with the victims and assure them of the county government’s full support.”

District Commissioner Abdirisack Jaldesa sent a message of condolence to the nurse, adding that an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire.