A sombre mood has engulfed Utumishi Girls Academy Senior School in Gilgil, Nakuru County on Thursday after a devastating dormitory fire claimed the lives of at least 10 students in one of the country’s latest school tragedies.
The fire, which reportedly broke out at around 3:30 a.m., caught students asleep, triggering panic and desperate attempts to escape from the burning dormitory.
Survivors narrated horrifying scenes of confusion and screams as thick smoke engulfed the building. Some students alleged that doors to the dormitory jammed during the inferno, trapping several girls inside as the flames spread rapidly.
Witnesses said some learners tried to escape through windows while others cried for help from inside the burning structure.
By dawn, distraught parents and relatives had begun arriving at the school seeking information about the fate of their children as police officers, firefighters and emergency response teams combed through the scene.
The tragedy sparked anger and questions over the school’s emergency preparedness, with concerns emerging about the condition of exits and the speed of rescue operations.
In a message sent to Channel 15 News, a concerned parent questioned the delayed emergency response despite the school’s proximity to military installations.
“Channel 15 News, watoto wamefariki Utumishi Girls baada ya inferno usiku wa leo. Milango ilikataa kufunguka wakati moto ulipozuka. Kuna KDF barracks mbili within a 5-kilometre radius lakini hawakufika mapema kusaidia,” the parent said.
Authorities have launched investigations into the cause of the fire, with detectives expected to focus on possible safety lapses, dormitory design and compliance with school fire regulations.
The incident has revived painful memories of past deadly school fires in Kenya, including the 2001 Kyanguli Secondary School tragedy in Machakos County that killed 67 students and the recent Hillside Endarasha Academy fire in Nyeri County.
Education officials, police and county disaster management teams are expected to issue a comprehensive statement once rescue and identification processes are completed.
By Thursday morning, the identities of the deceased students had not yet been officially released as rescue and recovery efforts continued.
