Several families have been left homeless after an inferno razed their rental houses at Ha-Iriga village in Nyeri Town Constituency this morning.

The fire also claimed the life of a three-and-a-half-year-old boy who was living with his father. The father sustained injuries during the incident and was rushed to the Nyeri County Referral Hospital for treatment.

Nyeri Central Sub-County Police Commander Andrew Mbogo confirmed the incident, saying investigations have been launched to establish the cause of the fire, which remains unknown.

He added that the deceased’s father was taken to the hospital by police officers who responded to the scene and that he had sustained slight injuries.

“We are investigating to establish the cause of the fire and determine if there are any other cases of injury,” Mbogo said.

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According to eyewitnesses, the fire started in one of the rooms, and residents were unable to salvage anything.

“I was in the house with my children when a young child came running to inform us that there was a fire in one of our neighbours’ houses. That’s how we managed to escape before the fire spread,” Pamela Nkatha, one of the affected residents, said.

Another resident, Jecinta Kagwanja, said that although firefighters arrived promptly, the flames spread too quickly for them to save any property.

“I was preparing breakfast when I was informed that my cousin’s houses were on fire. We called the firefighters, who responded on time, but the fire had already spread rapidly. Unfortunately, a life was lost,” she said.

The victims are now appealing to the government and well-wishers for assistance with clothing and food, saying they lost everything in the blaze.

“We are asking the government and people of goodwill to come to our aid, as we were not able to save anything. We have no clothes or bedding, and we do not even know where we will spend the night,” Nkatha added.