BY Dominic Cheres/ Kibe Mburu
A cloud of grief engulfed Tumoek village, Kapkwen location in Kunyak Ward, Kipkelion West Sub-County, in Kericho County after a fire gutted a house killing six family members.
Speaking to KNA, Kipkelion West Sub-County Police Commander Mr. Guda Okello said the fire is suspected to have exploded in the house at around 2 a.m. Monday while the six family members who perished were asleep.
Okello said a broken down solar system, power saw, and petrol were inside the house saying it is suspected that a spark from the unserviceable solar system could have ignited the fire with the aid of the petrol which caused an explosion.
The SCPC confirmed that no one was rescued during the inferno which also destroyed the entire house with property worth thousands of shillings. He said the charred bodies were moved to the St. Vincent Hospital Mortuary in Muhoroni.
“I urge the residents to stop storing petrol in their houses and to ensure the electrical wiring in the households is done by qualified personnel to avoid similar incidents,” said Okello.
Meanwhile, the Tumoek Sub-location Assistant Chief Alice Yegon said the six included three children their mother, and two aunties perished in the fire tragedy and nothing was salvaged.
At the same time, Andrew Kitur, a village elder, told KNA that they heard screams past midnight, and on coming out, they saw a huge fire from their neighbor’s home and their attempts to put it out were futile.
Kitur revealed that the father to three daughters who perished in the incident was not at home at the time of the tragedy as he works and stays at the tea estates.
“We made a call to the area Assistant Chief Alice Yegon who made a distress call to the police and APS located at Kunyak station who on arrival could not rescue anyone,” said Kitur.