A fire on Saturday morning destroyed property of an unknown value at Mavuti Secondary School in Machakos County.
According to witnesses, the fire which broke out at around 6 am, completely destroyed one of the dormitories which hosts about 165 Form Two students.
Reports further revealed that the fire broke out while the students were undertaking their dawn lessons inside their respective classrooms. During the incident, no casualties or injuries were reported.
Firefighters from the Machakos County Government were immediately dispatched to the scene and jointly with the students, helped put out the fire before it could spread to other areas.
In the videos and images that have since gone viral, the footage depicted the dormitory wholly engulfed in smoke even as students and a section of the locals intensified their efforts to put the fire out.
Some of the students were recorded watching as their property went up in flames from a distance. Moments later, police officers arrived at the scene with a probe launched to establish the cause of the fire.
The latest case adds to a series of fire incidents reported across the country in the last one month. It comes against the backdrop of the ongoing nationwide mandatory inspection of schools.
In September, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba directed mandatory inspection of all schools following a surge in fire incidents in several learning institutions across the country, particularly, the Hillside Endarasha tragedy that led to the death of 21 pupils.
Ogamba In a press statement, announced that the inspection would be done to ensure that all schools adhere to the safety protocols outlined in the Safety Standards Manual.
According to the Education CS, the impromptu checks would be carried out by a multi-agency team from the Ministries of Education, Interior, Health and officials from the Department of Public Works, officers from the County Governments and those from the Kenya Red Cross.
"It will also help us make appropriate recommendations to remedy the situation, in cases where there are fresh interventions required that are a departure from the indiscipline cases reported in the previous years," Ogamba stated.
"We wish to assure the country that the Ministry will continue to support schools to remain safe and conducive spaces for quality and effective learning," the CS added.
