There was panic at Tengecha Boys High School in Kericho on the evening of Sunday, October 4, after a fire engulfed one of the institution's main dormitories.Reports reaching Kenyans.co.ke indicate that the fire broke out late in the afternoon on the second floor of the building before quickly spreading across the floor.Thick smoke could be seen rising from the school as the blaze intensified, prompting an emergency response from students, members of staff and residents from the surrounding community.Residents rushed to the school shortly after the fire was reported and joined students and staff in efforts to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other buildings.Images and videos from the scene showed members of the local community helping to fight the fire as efforts were made to bring the situation under control.The blaze proved difficult to contain at some point as flames spread across the affected floor of the dormitory.Efforts by the students, staff and residents eventually helped contain the fire before it could spread to other sections of the institution.The fire left the second floor of the dormitory severely damaged, with windows and other infrastructure appearing extensively destroyedAt the time of this publication, there were no indications of any injuries to learners from the blaze. The cause of the fire is also unknown even as investigations are expected to establish the actual cause. This was yet another incident which added to a worrying trend among Kenyan High Schools, which have been plagued by fire incidents in recent months.In particular, incidents of dormitory fires tend to spike towards the end of the school term, with education stakeholders speculating that the trend could be linked to end-of-term assessments.Weeks earlier, on August 26, a fire broke out in Kirwara Boys High School in Gatanga, Murang’a County, which also razed down a school bus which was parked nearby.
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