A fire broke out early Tuesday morning at one of Bishop Ndingi High School's dormitories, leaving hundreds of students stranded.
According to reports, the fire started while students were attending their morning prep on Tuesday, July 22. Fortunately, no injuries or casualties were reported.
Mwala Deputy County Commissioner David Tegutwa confirmed that property of unknown value, including beds and students’ personal belongings, was destroyed, leaving 150 students without accommodation.
“Students were in morning preps when they noted that there was fire consuming one of their dormitories, named Ngotho, early this morning,” Tegutwa stated.
“There were no casualties in the incident since all 150 students usually accommodated in the dormitory were in their respective classrooms for morning preps,” he added.
Tegutwa noted that security agencies, in collaboration with the school administration and board of management, have launched investigations to establish the exact cause of the fire.
The mixed-day and boarding secondary school, located near Mwala Town in Machakos Sub-County, has an enrolment of approximately 287 students.
The incident comes just two weeks after a similar fire broke out at one of Onjiko High School’s dormitories in Kisumu County on July 7.
Images and videos from the scene showed flames engulfing the second floor of the building, with the inferno reaching the roof.
While no casualties or injuries were reported, the blaze destroyed students’ personal belongings and school property, including beds.
Preliminary reports indicated that the fire broke out while students were away from the dormitory, although the exact cause was yet to be determined.
According to experts, the months of June and July are notorious for fire incidents in Kenyan High Schools, because these months are close to the examination period.
