A devastating fire at a primary school in central Kenya has claimed the lives of 16 children, with a UK charity now sending investigators amid mounting concerns over building safety standards. The blaze tore through a dormitory at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri county late on Thursday night, trapping pupils as they slept.
Local authorities confirmed the death toll on Friday morning, with many of the victims aged between nine and 13. Rescuers pulled charred bodies from the wreckage as distraught parents gathered outside the school gates. The fire is the deadliest to hit a Kenyan school in recent years, reviving painful memories of previous tragedies that exposed systemic failures in safety regulations.
The British charity, Fire Safety International, has announced it will deploy a team of experts to assist with the investigation. The organisation previously worked on fire safety reforms in Kenyan schools after a 2001 dormitory fire killed 67 pupils. “We cannot stand by when children are dying in preventable fires,” said the charity’s director, speaking from London. “We will examine the building’s design, electrical systems, and emergency procedures.”
Questions are now being asked about why safety recommendations from past disasters have not been fully implemented. Reports suggest the dormitory had no fire alarms, sprinklers, or clearly marked exits. Windows were fitted with security bars, common in many Kenyan schools to prevent break-ins, but which can become death traps in a fire.
The tragedy comes as Kenya grapples with broader issues of inequality and underinvestment in public services. Many rural schools operate on shoestring budgets, with dormitories often overcrowded and built using flammable materials. The government has ordered an immediate safety audit of all boarding schools across the country, but campaigners argue that repeated promises of reform have yielded little.
For the families of the victims, the loss is immeasurable. “I sent my child to school to learn, not to die,” said one mother, clutching a school photo. “Who will answer for this?”
The UK investigators are expected to arrive within days, but their presence has divided opinion. Some welcome the external expertise, while others question why a British charity is stepping in where local authorities have failed. “We have our own fire safety officers,” said a Kenyan teachers’ union representative. “The problem is not lack of knowledge. It is lack of enforcement.”
Meanwhile, the school’s management has gone to ground, with no public statement issued. Police have launched a criminal inquiry into possible negligence.
As the sun rose over the smouldering ruins, a single shoe lay in the ashes. It was a small, worn trainer, size three. For the children of Hillside Endarasha Academy, the fire ended not just their lives, but any hope that their country would learn from its mistakes.
