A dormitory at Cheptenye Boys High School in Belgut, Kericho County, was on Thursday afternoon burnt down by a mysterious fire, destroying property of unknown value.
Reports indicate that the fire began at around 2 p.m., in what some people believe could have been an arson attack on the dormitory, which houses over 100 students.
The incident occurred while the students were attending their afternoon lessons. However, no injuries or casualties were reported.
Students, together with some villagers, quickly intervened and managed to put out the fire, which had already destroyed a large part of the dormitory.
Videos and images shared widely on social media showed the dormitory engulfed in smoke, with students watching from a distance as their property went up in flames.
While the exact cause of the inferno is yet to be established, local authorities in Belgut have since launched investigations to determine the root cause.
The fire incident at Cheptenye Boys has also sparked concerns from members of the public over the frequent cases of fires in schools, particularly boarding institutions across the country.
Just a week ago, at least one student was critically injured after a fire burned down a dormitory at Otieno Oyoo Secondary School in Kisumu County.
The fire began on Tuesday, September 2, in the afternoon while most of the students were asleep, and they were only woken up by thick smoke that had engulfed the whole building.
Witnesses reported that students residing in the dormitory at the time of the incident scrambled to safety through the windows and doors, screaming for help.
Efforts by the learners and teachers to put out the fire proved futile as the flames escalated, burning down the entire dormitory, leaving students stranded outside in the cold.
In a similar occurrence in August this year, a fire destroyed property worth millions at Narok Full Gospel Church, razing a dormitory that housed rescued girls within the church compound.
The girls made desperate attempts to salvage their belongings before the flames overwhelmed them. However, it took the intervention of residents to extinguish the blaze after attempts to reach the County Disaster Management Department failed.
