A late-night inferno on Thursday, January 22, 2026, tore through several businesses along Jogoo Road, on the outskirts of Nairobi’s Central Business District, triggering panic over its close proximity to a petrol station. The fire broke out at about 9:00 PM, when most shops had already closed.
The blaze is reported to have started near the Mogas petrol station and spread rapidly through roadside stalls and commercial units, fanned by strong winds and the tightly packed nature of the structures in the area. Witnesses described thick smoke and towering flames as traders and residents scrambled to respond.
Firefighters from Nairobi County arrived shortly after the alarm was raised and managed to contain the fire before it could reach the fuel pumps at the nearby station, averting what authorities said could have been a major disaster.
Videos shared on social media captured chaotic scenes as business owners braved intense heat in an attempt to salvage their goods. Police officers and disaster management teams moved quickly to cordon off the area, citing the high risk of explosions due to the adjacent petrol station.
Although the fire caused extensive property damage, officials have yet to confirm the total financial losses or whether there were any injuries or fatalities. Emergency responders praised the swift intervention by county fire crews, noting that their priority was to establish a safety buffer between the flames and the fuel facility.
The Jogoo Road incident is the second major commercial fire reported in Nairobi this month. Just two weeks earlier, another blaze swept through a building along Luthuli Avenue, destroying property worth millions of shillings and raising fresh concerns about fire safety in densely built urban areas.
