Property worth millions went down in flames at Thwake building near Kobil Petrol Station in Machakos town, on Friday night.
Nothing was salvaged in the building that housed a timber shop, a shoe store and a liquor store.
Confirming the incident, Emergency Services Director David Mwongela said that the fire broke out at around 1 am and firefighters battled it out till morning.
He said that the fire kept spreading making it hard to extinguish.
"The fire began in one house inside the plot and after it was put out, it emerged in the shop causing damage," said Mwongela.
He said that the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) delayed in disconnecting the power, which delayed the firefighters in extinguishing the fire.
The director noted that it took the intervention of the police for KPLC to disconnect the power.
"Kenya power took long in disconnecting the power and made our access hard, thus causing the fire to spread to other shops," Mwongela said.
"However, towards morning we were able to put out the fire completely because the police engaged officers from the power company who later agreed to disconnect the power," he added.
The cause of the fire hasn't been established but the police have launched investigations into the incident.
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