Panic and confusion gripped Donholm Estate in Nairobi on the morning of Friday, February 6, after a gas depot was engulfed by a fierce blaze that triggered multiple explosions.
Images obtained show towering flames and thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky, visible from several parts of the city. Witnesses reported hearing a series of loud explosions after a fire broke out near the Total Petrol Station in Donholm, opposite Triple K.
Preliminary information indicates that the blaze spread to a gas cylinder depot, triggering a chain of explosions as the cylinders detonated one after another. The cause of the fire had not been established by the time of publishing.
Terrifying scenes unfolded as residents scrambled for safety. Emergency response teams were quickly deployed to the area. One witness wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “It felt like bombs were going off in the neighborhood.” Families were forced to flee their homes as flying gas cylinders and debris shattered windows of nearby buildings and damaged parked vehicles.
According to eyewitness accounts, the fire initially started at a local eatery before spreading to a nearby clinic and eventually reaching the gas depot. County emergency teams managed to contain the inferno before it spread further, preventing even greater destruction and potential loss of life in surrounding residential buildings.
However, the full extent of the damage remains unclear. Authorities had yet to confirm the value of property destroyed or the number of people injured or killed in the incident.
This tragedy adds to a worrying pattern of similar incidents in Nairobi’s Eastlands area. The city has witnessed multiple devastating gas explosions in recent years, often linked to illegal gas refilling operations in densely populated neighborhoods.
In October 2025, a gas explosion in Kiamaiko, Huruma, killed eight people and left about 80 families homeless. Tassia Estate suffered multiple gas explosions in August 2025, while an explosion in Ngara in September 2024 destroyed 40 residential and commercial units. One of the deadliest incidents occurred in February 2024 in Embakasi, where an LPG truck exploded at an illegal refilling site, killing six people and injuring more than 300.
In emergencies, Nairobi residents can contact the fire department through the toll-free number 1508 or via 020-2222-181 and 020-2344-599.
Gas cylinder depot explodes at Kisumu Ndogo estate in Donholm, Nairobi, firefighters at scene containing situation
Video by Stafford Ondego pic.twitter.com/isOcfLWJWM
— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) February 6, 2026