Lilian Nyiva
A devastating fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, has claimed the lives of 16 students and left 74 others injured following a dormitory blaze that broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to police reports, the incident occurred at around 4:30 a.m. when the school principal, Joycelene Muraguri, alerted authorities after a fire engulfed one of the school’s dormitories.
Police officers led by the Gilgil Sub-County Police Commander, accompanied by detectives, responded to the emergency at the school located approximately seven kilometres north of Gilgil Police Station. By the time they arrived, the dormitory block identified as the Meline Waithera Block was already engulfed in flames.
Authorities said the dormitory housed about 220 students drawn from Grade 10, Form Three and Form Four classes.
A multi-agency emergency response team was deployed to contain the inferno. Fire engines from Naivasha joined the operation alongside personnel from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), and the National Youth Service (NYS), all of whom provided water bowsers and logistical support.
The fire was eventually brought under control, although the extent of property damage had not yet been fully established by Thursday morning.
The injured students were rushed to Gilgil Sub-County Hospital and St. Mark’s Hospital for treatment. Police said the victims sustained injuries of varying severity.Crime scene investigators documented the scene as detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Gilgil launched investigations into the cause of the blaze. Authorities had not established the cause of the fire by the time of publication.
The tragedy has sparked renewed concern over fire safety standards and compliance in schools across the country, especially in boarding institutions. Leaders and education stakeholders have called for thorough investigations and stronger enforcement of school safety regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future.
President mourned the students who lost their lives in the tragedy, while the Ministry of Education urged the public to respect the privacy of affected learners and families during the mourning period.
The incident is one of the deadliest school fire tragedies reported in Kenya in recent years.
