𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐲𝐚 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢 𝐂𝐁𝐃

Panic gripped Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) on Monday after a fire broke out at Lotus House, a commercial building located along Tom Mboya Street near Afya Centre.

According to preliminary reports, several people were feared trapped inside the building as firefighters and other emergency responders rushed to the scene to contain the blaze.

However, authorities had not confirmed the number of people trapped or whether there were any casualties by the time of publication.

The fire was reported to have started on the building’s first floor before spreading quickly. The cause of the blaze has not been established, and investigations are expected once the fire is fully contained.

The incident disrupted traffic along the busy Tom Mboya Street as emergency vehicles responded and crowds gathered near the scene.

Police and rescue teams worked to secure the area while firefighters battled the flames.There were also concerns that the fire could spread to a nearby petrol station located close to Afya Centre, prompting emergency responders to move quickly to prevent the flames from reaching the fuel facility.

Witnesses at the scene said initial attempts to put out the fire using portable fire extinguishers were unsuccessful because the flames had already spread and access to parts of the building was difficult.

These accounts had not been independently verified by authorities.Lotus House is a commercial building that accommodates small businesses, private offices and retail shops.

The latest incident adds to a series of fires that have affected commercial buildings in Nairobi’s CBD in recent years, raising concerns about fire safety standards and emergency preparedness.

Earlier this year, a fire destroyed several roadside businesses along Jogoo Road near the CBD after flames spread through the premises. In another incident, a fire at Ramogi Building on Luthuli Avenue disrupted business activities as traders fled and emergency teams responded.

While investigations into those incidents produced different findings, electrical faults have frequently been identified by authorities as one of the common causes of fires in commercial buildings.

The cause of the Lotus House fire remains under investigation.