Huge fire sweeps through dorm at Kakamega School
No one was injured in the morning fire at Kakamega School.
Property of unknown value was destroyed when fire broke out in one of the dormitories in Kakamega School on Saturday morning.
The head of the school Mr Gerald Orina said the dormitory, which houses 584 students caught fire at around 5.45 am when students had settled in class for morning studies.
“Teachers and students attempted to put out the fire but were overwhelmed. We are grateful to God that no casualties were reported,” said Mr Orina.
He said investigations into the cause of the fire had been opened and appealed to parents to remain calm, adding that learning would continue without interruption.
Following the incident, some students were seized by police for questioning.
Several students were seized by police for questioning following the fire incident.
Ms Consolata Achieng, who is a parent at the school, called for thorough investigations to establish the cause of the fire.
“We are not in agreement with the directive by the Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha that parents should shoulder the burden whenever a school is burnt down. Some fires are caused by electric fault and parents cannot be blamed for this,” said Ms Achieng.
Mr Jacob Sifuna, a parent criticised the response by the Kakamega County Government fire fighters to emergencies and disaster situations.
“We were shocked to see the county fire engine arrive without enough water. The school is hardly a kilometre away from their offices but they could not help contain the fire,” said Mr Sifuna.
Some parents threatened to transfer their children from the school should they be asked to meet the cost of the damages caused by the fire.
“You cannot put all the blame of fires in schools on students when in some cases, they are as a result of electrical glitches. Every time a dormitory is gutted, parents incur expenses of doing fresh budgets for their children,” noted Mr Sifuna.
The dormitory fire incident at Kakamega School is the third incident in the county after a dormitory was burnt at Mukumu Boys on October 29 and Indangalasia Secondary in Matungu on November 1.
