Utumishi Girls Academy dormitory structure has raised public concern following the fire breakout that left 79 students injured and 16 students dead on May 28.
From the images of the school by the National Police Service (NPS) of where the fire incidents took place, the installed windows in the institution are small, and the design fails to conform to the safety standards in schools.
Despite the scrutiny on the structural design of the dormitory, the Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba added that the investigation into the safety standards of the school will be carried out.
“From a policy perspective, we have a safety school manual that all the schools are there to adhere to, and I would urge that we wait to see after the investigations whether that safety manual was adhered to in this school,” CS Julius Ogamba stated during a press interview at the school on May 28.
According to the CS, the investigations will determine whether the learning institution adhered to the school safety manual as directed by the ministry.
Also Read: Utumishi Girls Academy Closed for Investigations
Utumishi Girls Academy Design
From the building images by the NPS, the windows on the Meline Waithera dormitory block have metal grill bars, which, according to one of the parents interviewed at the school, prevented the easy escape of students during the fire.
In addition to the metal grills, the windows are narrow, with limited space for easy exit.
Further, the NPS images indicated that some of the windowpanes had been broken as students tried to escape the fire in the upper-floor dormitory where the fire is reported to have started.
From the higher floor near the windows, there were no visible fire exits or support structures, such as ladders, to allow an easy exit; hence, the reason the student jumped from the second floor.
Apart from the windows, a parent of one of the students noted in an interview that only one emergency door was opened during the fire, causing the students to stampede.
Also Read: All You Need to Know About Utumishi Girls Academy: KCSE Results, School History, Fees and Admission
School Safety Standards
In contrast with the window design at the Utumishi Girls Academy Senior School, the school safety standards dictate that windows should not have grills and be easy to open.
“Dormitory windows must be without grills and should be easy to open outwards,” the school safety standards from the Ministry of Education state.
In addition, the school safety standard notes that every block in the learning institution should have serviced fire extinguishers, with dormitories having a door at the end and an additional emergency exit door.
Further, the safety standards require that in any learning institution dormitory, the doorways should be at least 5 feet wide and must remain open and always unlocked.
Spaces between the beds in dormitories should be at least 1.2 meters, and a 2-meter space should be maintained in the corridors, according to the Ministry of Education safety standards.
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