Dorms torched in night fires in two Bomet schools

Dormitories in two schools in Bomet County have been torched in fire outbreaks Saturday night.

A dormitory at Kabungut Boys High School in Bomet Central Constituency and another one at Chebunyo Boys High School in Chepalungu Constituency were reduced to shells by infernos that broke out after 9pm.

The two schools are the latest boarding facilities to experience fires in the South Rift region in the last one month.

The fire at Kabungut High School broke out at around 9pm as students were attending their night studies and less than an hour later, a similar incident occurred at Chebunyo High School.

"Fire broke out at a dormitory in Kabungut High School, but was contained before it could spread further," said Mr Stanley Mutai, the Bomet County disaster officer.

Out of control

But in Chepalungu, the destruction was huge as the fire went out of control quickly with few items being salvaged.

Bomet Central Sub-County Police Commander Musa Omari said there were no injuries reported in connection with the fire at Kabungut Boys.

A month ago, a fire outbreak was also reported at Kimulot Boys High School in Konoin Sub-County, still in Bomet County.

At the same time, two suspects have been arrested in connection with a fire incident at Tengecha Boys High School in the neighbouring Kericho County last Thursday.

During the incident, 21 students who sustained minor injuries were treated at the nearby Kapkatet Sub-County Referral Hospital and discharged.

Fire put out

The fire burnt down two dormitories at the school in Bureti Sub-County before it was extinguished through a combined effort by students, teachers and the public.

“Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident and are helping police with investigations,” said Ms Felicias Nafula, the Bureti Sub-County police commander, said at the time.

Ms Nafula said the students sustained injuries as they fled their dormitories for safety when the fire broke out.

A senior security officer at the school, Mr Cosmas Kiplangat, is said to have found a mattress along an electricity line outside one of the dormitories as he patrolled the compound.

The watchman is said to have removed the mattress and went about securing the compound but noticed at 1.20am that smoke was billowing from one of the dormitories.

He raised the alarm, attracting police officers from Kapkatet Police Post who rushed to the scene and coordinated efforts to put out the fire.

Property destroyed

Property of unknown value was destroyed in the inferno with students losing mattresses, bedding, uniforms, books and other personal effects.

One of the dormitories affected had been burnt in a similar incident in 2016, which led to the closure of the school for several weeks.

Education officers, the school’s board of management and senior security officers were held up in a meeting at the school on Thursday afternoon.

The school was, however, not closed as the management sought a stop gap measure for the affected students to be accommodated.

In Narok County, a dormitory was also razed at Oloomirani Secondary School as cases of fire outbreaks continue being reported in learning institutions.