NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 6 – Another school fire has been reported in Western Kenya where a dormitory at Kakamega High School went up in flames on Saturday.
The cause of the fire was not immediately established and authorities said it started at 6 am when students were in classes for morning studies.
Kakamega High School Principal Gerald Orina, said the fire was put out with the assistance of the fire brigade from the county government of Kakamega.
“The teachers on duty had already put the students in class and immediately after at 5.45 am, we saw some fire in the dormitories. We went to put out the fire in order to save some of the students’ properties,” he said.
Police in Kakamega said an investigation had been launched to establish the cause of the fire that comes a week after a dormitory was burnt down in Buru Buru Girls High School in Nairobi where 20 students were injured while escaping. Most of them inhaled the smoke fumes.
The school was subsequently closed following the incident.
Other schools which have experienced fires in the last few weeks are Chavakali Boys High School in Vihiga County and Kanjuri High School in Nyeri County.
This week, the government directed headteachers to release children both in primary and secondary school for half term on November 19-23 after schools complained that students needed a break from the tight academic calendar introduced after a long COVID-19 break.