Property of an unknown value was destroyed after a fire in Siaya town on Tuesday night.
The 8pm incident is said to have been caused by an electrical fault at one of the shops.
Helon Oloo, a witness, said the fire spread to three adjacent shops.
“We rushed to the scene but the doors of all the shops were locked. We decided to break in and salvage what we could manage,” he added.
He said calls to firefighters went unanswered and they decided to call Kenya Power to put off electricity in the area.
“The Kenya Power officers responded swiftly but the firefighters came late without water,” Oloo said.