Huge fire in Nairobi gets slow response
NAIROBI, Kenya — A massive early-morning fire destroyed the arrivals hall at Kenya’s main international airport Wednesday, forcing the closure of East Africa’s largest airport and the rerouting of all inbound flights.
No serious injuries were reported, said Michael Kamau, the cabinet secretary for transport and infrastructure. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of the bombings of the U.S. Embassy buildings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, in neighbouring Tanzania, but there were no immediate signs of terrorism in Wednesday’s fire. Kenya’s anti-terror police boss, Boniface Mwaniki, told The Associated Press that he is waiting for the fire to be put out so that he can inspect the scene before making a judgment.
Dark black smoke was visible across much of Nairobi as emergency teams battled the blaze. Passengers reported a slow response by the underresourced fire brigade. The fire raged for more than four hours before being contained, though flames still persisted two hours later.
“It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn’t seem to be stopping,” said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia on Wednesday morning.
The fire gutted the international arrivals hall, where passengers pass through immigration and retrieve their luggage. The Kenya Airports Authority closed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport until further notice.
“We reassure international and local travellers that arrangements are being put in place to restore normal operations. The airlines are working to assist stranded passengers and advise them on the measures being put in place to resume services at JKIA,” said Stephen Gichuki, the director of the Kenyan Airports Authority.
The Nairobi airport is the busiest in East Africa, and its closure is likely to affect flights throughout the region and beyond.
Kamau said the fire began at 5 a.m. in the immigration section of the arrivals hall. Inbound flights were diverted to the coastal city of Mombasa, he said.
As in many countries in East Africa, public sector services such as police and fire units in Kenya are hobbled by small budgets and outdated or no equipment.
Many of the units responding to the fire were from private security firms.
A British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, said he was surprised that the airport wasn’t shut sooner so that emergency vehicles could respond.
“When I arrived there were one or two fire engines parked outside the international arrivals. It spread very fast,” said Collbeck, who had been scheduled to fly to London on an early morning KLM flight.
“I would have expected more fire engines to respond faster.”