Fire at Kenyan Girls School Kills at Least 15 Students

A fire swept through a dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Kenya, early Thursday morning, killing at least 15 students and injuring dozens more. m. at the girls’ boarding school, which serves high school students in the town of Gilgil, about 75 miles northwest of Nairobi.

Police and rescue teams responded, and photographs posted on social media showed charred walls, smashed windows, and girls in pajamas being led from the building.

Police reported that a number of students lost their lives and that several others were injured. Search teams were deployed, and the Kenya Red Cross posted updates on social media confirming the location and time of the incident. Parents gathered near the school awaiting further information while rescue operations continued.

The fire follows earlier deadly blazes at Kenyan boarding schools. In 2024, 18 children died in a dormitory fire at a primary school housing more than 300 students. Kenya’s deadliest school fire occurred in 2001 in Machakos, where 67 students were killed.

A 2020 government audit found that most schools lacked working fire extinguishers and alarms, despite a national safety manual issued in 2008. The cause of Thursday’s fire remains under investigation.