13 students injured after fire incident at Katoloni Secondary School in Machakos

Thirteen students were injured after a fire broke out at Katoloni Secondary School in Machakos County, causing chaos and panic as students fled to safety.

The fire, which engulfed two dormitories, erupted on Saturday night, minutes after 9 pm.

Machakos County Police Commander Patrick Lobolia said the injuries occurred during a stampede as students rushed to escape the flames.

Speaking on Sunday, Lobolia confirmed that the injured were treated and discharged from Machakos Level 5 Hospital.

“All 13 students were rushed to the hospital where they were treated for minor injuries, most caused by the stampede, while a few fainted due to smoke inhalation,” he said.

At the time of the fire, students were attending their evening studies in classrooms. Lobolia explained that no one was inside the dormitories when the fire broke out, but panic spread when an alarm was raised.

“Students were in class when they were alerted about the fire. The resulting panic led to the stampede as they tried to get to safety,” he said.

Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control by 10:50 pm, but students lost personal items including clothes, bedding, and school materials.

However, the cause of the fire remains unknown, with investigations underway.

The Directorate of Special Programmes visited Katoloni Secondary School in Machakos Sub-County where a boys' dormitory was razed down by fire and issued out blankets and other items.

I applaud our Emergency Team for their swift response and conducting safe evacuation of the… pic.twitter.com/J2inrk7SVA

— Wavinya Ndeti Oduwole, EGH (@Wavinya_Ndeti) September 15, 2024

“We are yet to determine what started the fire, but all students have been accounted for, and the situation is now under control,” Lobolia said.

Teargas lobbed

Lobolia said during the incident, crowds from the nearby Katoloni shopping centre attempted to storm the school. The police, fearing for the safety of the students and property, intervened by firing teargas to disperse the group.

“Drunken individuals from local bars tried to break into the school, which led to us using teargas to prevent looting or any further harm,” he said.

The crowd had also blocked the school entrance, obstructing emergency teams from accessing the scene, but the police were able to secure the area and restore order.

The incident comes a week after fire engulfed a dormitory at Hillside Endarasha Academy School in Nyeri County, leaving 21 students dead.

The section where the fire started on the night of September 5 had 48 pupils sleeping in 24 double-decker beds, 12 beds lined up on either side. The dormitory housed Grade 5 to Grade 8 pupils.

While the cause of the fire is yet to be known, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said on Thursday that investigations are ongoing and emphasised that the government will share any information related to the incident.

Meanwhile, the government has initiated a compulsory nationwide inspection of all public and private schools in response to the fire tragedies.

In the past week, other fire incidents have been reported at Isiolo Boys High School and Isiolo Girls High School, though no casualties occurred in these cases. Fires were also reported at Bukhalalire Secondary School in Busia County and Ortum Boys High School in West Pokot County.