The Great Fire

One of the things that has taken us some time to accept is that personal security in Kenya ‘looks’ different. That is, if you see an officer with an AK-47 standing next to the banking machine then it is safe to take out money. Unlike Canada, where your security is largely unseen but you know that you can call the police and they will be there when you need. The same is true of the fire department... they sit on the side of the road.... no number to call.....visible security.

All week the Kenyan staff at Rosslyn have been clearing the area behind our house – cutting down corn that did not mature because of lack of rain, slashing grass to improve visibility to the edge of the property. And Friday afternoon at 2:00 the burning began 100 feet from our house.This is typical Kenyan custom to burn the brush, garbage, and foliage after a clean up.

Just as we were finishing supper at 6:00 Simon says “Dad is that tree on fire?” It surely was! A 70 foot tree was on fire in our backyard and at that moment a large branch fell burning to the ground. Because Kenya has not had rain in months the ground is a tinder box and the trees are DRY. Because of the lack of rain there is a national water shortage. Because of the water shortage there is no guarantee that the fire trucks have water.

We gathered the neighbours and began carrying buckets of water to the fire. The fire was burning inside the tree and the spot where it showed itself was 40 feet in the air, so even water guns proved useful. We gathered hoses and connected them with strips of rubber to reach the fire. Tim and a couple of other men took turns climbing the ladder and spraying water into the heart of the tree. There were embers raining all over and another branch threatened to fall.

For two hours we poured precious water on the ground until the fire was cooled and seemed to be contained. We left two men on guard through the night. At 4:00 a.m. it flared up again – we heard a “crack” and could see flames from our bedroom window. Another hour of water pouring into the tree and it settled down again.

This morning it looks calm but we will be vigilant watching for flare ups.