Fire broke out at Lotus House, a commercial building near Afya Centre in Nairobi’s Central Business District, on Monday, August 3, triggering panic among traders, office workers and residents in the area.
Preliminary reports indicated that several people may have been trapped inside the building as emergency responders raced to the scene. The blaze is understood to have started on the first floor before spreading quickly through the structure, overwhelming initial efforts to contain it.
Locals at the scene attempted to put out the flames using fire extinguishers, but the efforts proved unsuccessful given the intensity of the fire. Many struggled to access the building’s interior as the blaze intensified, hampering rescue attempts in the critical early minutes of the emergency.
Images from the scene showed thick smoke rising from the building as onlookers gathered along the street to watch firefighting crews battle the flames. The incident disrupted traffic along Tom Mboya Street, one of the CBD’s busiest roads, as large crowds converged near the building.
Adding to the tension, there were concerns that the fire could spread to a nearby petrol station bordering the Afya Centre complex. Emergency responders moved quickly to prevent the situation from escalating further, though the threat underscored the risks posed by the building’s proximity to fuel storage facilities.
The cause of the fire had not been established at the time of reporting. Lotus House is home to a mix of small commercial offices, private business agencies and retail outlets, with its first floor historically occupied by corporate offices and company suites.
The incident adds to a growing list of fire outbreaks in Nairobi’s CBD in recent years, reigniting concerns over fire safety standards in the city’s older commercial buildings. Earlier this year, a fire along Jogoo Road destroyed several roadside shops, while a separate blaze at Ramogi Building on Luthuli Avenue disrupted business operations after flames engulfed part of the property. Most recent fires in the area have been attributed to electrical faults, though investigators have yet to determine what triggered Monday’s incident at Lotus House.
Emergency teams remained at the scene as the situation continued to develop, with authorities expected to provide further updates once the fire is fully contained and casualty numbers, if any, are confirmed.
