Property worth millions of shillings was reduced to ashes in a fire along Garage road in Homa Bay on Friday morning.
The fire destroyed outlets including shops with spare parts for vehicles.
“We heard a loud explosion from one of the shops before the fire started billowing,” said a watchman.
He and others said an electric fault may have caused the fire.
Other witnesses said people who went to help ended up stealing from the shops.
Shop owner Walter Opiyo said: “The county bought a new firefighting engine a year ago for about Sh40 million. Was this just a waste of our resources since we have not seen it in use?”
The incident comes just days after several houses adjacent to Governor Cyprian Awiti office were razed.
Property worth over Sh15 million went up in flames.
