A fire in a school in Kenya kills 17 students and seriously burns 13 others

Kenya Red Cross personnel and relatives try to comfort a woman reacting near a burned-out dormitory, following a fire at the Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri, Kenya Friday, Sep. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)

NAIROBI, Kenya — A fire in a school dormitory in Kenya killed 17 students and seriously burned 13 others, police said Friday.

There are fears that the death toll may rise, police said.

The cause of the fire Thursday night at Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri county was being investigated, police spokesperson Resila Onyango said. The school caters to children up to the age of 14.

Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu and the education ministry reported that the dormitory that caught fire housed more than 150 boys aged between 10 and 14. Since most of the buildings are built with wooden planks, the fire spread very fast.

The school, which has 824 students, is located in the country’s central highlands, 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, where wooden structures are common.

The Nyeri County governor, Mutahi Kahiga, told journalists that rescue efforts were hampered by the muddy roads caused by ongoing rains in the area.

Anxious parents who had been unable to trace their children among survivors waited at the school, engulfed with grief.

President William Ruto called the news “devastating.”

“I instruct relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific incident. Those responsible will be held to account,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

His deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, urged school administrators to ensure that safety guidelines recommended by the education ministry for boarding schools are being followed.

School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, often due to arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding, according to a recent education ministry report. Many students stay at school because parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes.

Some fires have been started by students during protests over the workload or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire started by a student in Nairobi.

The deadliest school fire was in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos county.

The education ministry's guidelines recommend that dormitories should be spacious enough and have two doors on each end, an emergency door in the middle and that windows are not fitted with grills to allow for escape in case of fire. Fully serviced fire extinguishers and fire alarms are required at easily accessible spots.