At Least 15 Killed, Over 70 Injured in Blaze at Girls' Dormitory in Kenya

Blaze engulfs dormitory in the early hours

At approximately 3:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, a fire swept through a dormitory at the Utumishi Girls Academy Senior School in Gilgil, Nakuru County, about 75 miles northwest of Nairobi. The school, which educates more than 800 high school girls, housed roughly 220 students in the affected dormitory. Flames quickly consumed the second floor, leaving behind charred walls and shattered windows, as seen in footage broadcast by Citizen Television. At least 15 students lost their lives, with some sources, including a police official quoted by Agence France-Presse, putting the death toll at 16. The Kenya Red Cross and other agencies reported that 73 others were injured, some critically; many had jumped from upper windows to escape the inferno.

Emergency response and ongoing search

Firefighters and police rushed to the scene and battled the blaze while evacuating survivors. The Kenya Red Cross deployed teams to assist, and county disaster response units joined the multi-agency operation. Injured students were transported to nearby hospitals in Nakuru County, where they received emergency treatment. Masoud Mwinyi, assistant to the deputy inspector general of police, told reporters that 50 officers were combing the surrounding area for students who may have fled in panic and remained unaccounted for.

Of that shock and fear and anxiety, many people went out, and it was at night.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen visited the site on Thursday morning to assess the situation and meet with distressed families. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations, led by Mohammed Amin, began a preliminary probe into the cause of the fire, which remained unknown as of Thursday afternoon.

Parents gather in anguish

As news of the tragedy spread, dozens of parents rushed to the school gates, desperate for information about their daughters. Wambui Nderitu, whose niece survived the fire but suffered a broken leg, described families' distress.

Some of those at the top floor had to jump out, that's why they are injured.

The government promised psychological support services for the affected families, and investigators worked to account for all students.

A recurring national tragedy

The fire is the latest in a long series of deadly infernos at Kenyan boarding schools. In September 2024, 21 boys were killed in a dormitory blaze in Nyeri County. In 2017, nine girls died in a fire at a school in Nairobi's Kibera slum. The country's deadliest school fire occurred in 2001, when 67 students perished in Machakos County after students set fire to a dormitory. A 2022 auditor general's report found that most state secondary schools lacked basic fire preparedness, including working extinguishers and alarms, despite a detailed national safety manual published in 2008. Officials have not yet determined whether the Gilgil fire was accidental or deliberately set, though past incidents have been linked to student arson protests over harsh discipline and poor conditions. Kenya's widespread boarding school system, particularly in rural areas where commutes can take hours, means that such tragedies affect large numbers of children.