300 students spend night in cold as fire destroys dorm

A dormitory goes up in flames at St Angelic Girls Secondary School in Meru on July17, 2016. PHOTO | DARLINGTON MANYARA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Attempts by neighbours and the students to put off the fire and salvage property proved futile as the school’s store was also burnt.
  • Meru county fire fighters who arrived at the scene few minutes after the incident managed to put off the fire in the store but few minutes later, a fierce fire erupted in one of the dormitories near the store.

300 students of St Angelic Girls Secondary School in Meru County were forced to spend their Sunday night in the cold after their dormitory was razed by fire.

The 10pm incident happened when the students were in class for their evening studies.

Attempts by neighbours and the students to put off the fire and salvage property proved futile as the school’s store was also burnt.

The school is a private Girls Secondary school in Meru town.

Meru county fire fighters who arrived at the scene few minutes after the incident managed to put off the fire in the store but few minutes later, a fierce fire erupted in one of the dormitories near the store.

Meru police OCS Joseph Kyoyo who was at the scene said the store had about 700 mattress and about 50 boxes belonging to students who left and had not cleared with the school.

"We have launched investigations into the matter and those responsible will be arrested and arraigned in court. We suspect a case of arson," he said.
Sources told the Nation that the fire may have been started by students who wanted to go home.