Nairobi county on Tuesday received four second-hand fire engines from the Japanese government to enable it respond better to fire cases in the county.
This is after the engines came as a donation to Nairobi from the Japanese Fire Fighting Association courtesy of the Japanese Embassy in Nairobi.
Speaking in Nairobi during the receipt of the engines, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero thanked the Japanese government and said the engines will help raise the city’s capacity to respond to fire crises.
"We are definitely going to improve our response, especially for those incidences that occur in informal settlements," Kidero said.
"We currently have six fire engines which are all working but the demand is high. We hope the four will help bridge the gap," the governor added.
Speaking at the same function, Japanese ambassador Toshitsuga Uesawa said their firefighters were also going to train their Kenyan counterparts on firefighting.
He revealed that the need to donate the equipment arose after the 2013 fire tragedy that razed a section of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.