Cornelius Gachanja, a Grade 8 pupil at Hillside Endarasha Academy, was asleep in the dormitory when he suddenly needed to use the bathroom. As he made his way to the washroom, he noticed a fire and was startled by the screams of other pupils closer to the blaze.
Recognizing the imminent danger, Gachanja quickly woke his classmates who were sleeping nearby, and together they fled the building.
The Star spoke with Gachanja at Mt. Kenya Hospital near Nyeri, where his father, Patrick Gikandi, recounted the shock he felt upon receiving the distressing news that his son’s school was on fire. Gikandi later received a call from another parent who had arrived at the school and confirmed seeing his son.
“That information gave me a lot of relief but I still called another teacher who confirmed that my son was safe,” he said.
But understanding that other children had lost their lives, Gikandi said he knelt down and prayed for God to console their families and for the hospitalised children to get better.
“I got to the school in the morning from Laikipia and the grief I saw in some of the parents was immense. I continue praying for them so that they can be comforted,” he said.
Gikandi said both teachers and learners need psychological support to get over the incident and the loss of their friends, adding that once the investigations are concluded, he will return the child back to the school.
“This was an accident like any other and an accident can occur anywhere, and this is a good school,” he said.
Another Parent, Titus Tatua, had just picked his set of twins from the hospital.
The twins, visibly shaken, were in the dormitory and both managed to run to safety before the fire engulfed the building.
Tatua said he was called by a teacher who told him to make arrangements to get to the school due to the fire.
“I found that my sons were okay and was told they had to undergo a medical check up and were brought to this hospital,” he said.
The boys, he said, saw the fire and promptly jumped out of the dormitory through windows.
“We were sleeping when the fire started and others started screaming,” the boys said, adding that they were later assembled at the assembly point.
John Muchiri, another parent, said he was reprieved when he was told that girls had not been affected by the fire.
“It was very shocking but I relaxed a bit when I was told girls were safe. I couldn’t sleep. I stayed up waiting for dawn to go for my daughter,” he said.
The hospital’s medical superintendent, Charles Ndirangu, confirmed that about 70 pupils had undergone a medical checkup at the facility and that one was admitted for further observation while the rest were discharged.
“None of the pupils we observed had burns. They underwent counselling and other medical tests and were discharged,” he said.
