The recent series of school fires, culminating in the tragedy at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri, whose death toll could be many more than the 21 already official, has increased the concerns of Kenyans and institutions about safety measures in educational institutions across Kenya. The day after the flames in the school dormitory where 156 boys aged 9 to 13 were sleeping, a similar incident occurred, another dormitory in a girls' college in Isiolo caught fire, fortunately in this case the female students managed to escape and no injuries were reported, also because the local authorities, from the airport fire brigade to the army, promptly intervened, containing the fire and preventing further disasters.

THE SMALL WITNESS

At Hillside, a small witness who escaped the tragedy told what he saw. A light bulb, the kind that stays on all night, allegedly exploded and its shards set a mattress on fire. The wooden structure and the other mattresses and blankets would have done the rest with a speed that would have made it impossible for some of the boys to escape.For now, another twenty or so boys are missing from the roll-call, in addition to those already reported.From today, DNA tests will begin on the remains found to allow the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and government pathologists to conduct the victim identification process, while nine families of boys who do not respond to the roll-call have not been traced.
This alarming trend has brought to the forefront the urgent need to strengthen security measures and improve emergency preparedness in Kenyan schools.

SWEEPING INSPECTIONS

This is why some county governors have ordered fire inspections in all schools in their territory, starting with the one in Mombasa, Abdulswamad Nassir.
‘The inspection aims to identify fire safety gaps in educational institutions. We will also provide basic fire safety training to school workers,’ Governor Nassir announced.
According to the Fire Safety Guidelines 2020, a document issued by the Auditor General's office, there are obligations that very few schools fulfil, not always due to the fault of headmasters and staff and often due to lack of funds. But for those with a ‘board’, with students sleeping in the facility, there should be evacuation signs on the walls, as well as, of course, fire extinguishers and always having a person in the facility who has taken the fire safety course.
We can imagine what the situation might be in some of these facilities, where other essentials are missing. One of the children who escaped the disaster in Nyeri, for example, reportedly told his parents that there was no water in the dormitory bathroom at night, so even if they wanted to try to extinguish the flames or delay their damaging effect, there would be little they could do. If we add the fire brigade's vehicle arriving late and going back to get water, having very little, we can understand why as of today all the schools in the country are under control.
We can also imagine that, beyond the public ones for which the institutions will have to be accountable, there will also be controls in public schools and here the hope is that the monster of corruption will not get to work, because we are talking about children and adolescents here, and death.