A student at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, has recounted a night of panic, confusion and painful escape as a dormitory fire swept through the school on May 28, 2026, leaving at least 16 students dead and 79 others injured, many of them caught between smoke, flames and collapsing order as they tried to flee.
Speaking from a hospital bed where she is receiving treatment, the learner described how a normal evening routine turned into chaos shortly after midnight, forcing students to make desperate decisions to survive. She said they had followed their usual schedule before heading to bed, with no sign of danger at the time.
“We normally follow a certain procedure, which is the Saturday program. So we normally go to bed at nine. So at night we went to the dorms, and everybody freshened up, ready to sleep,” she highlighted.
She said the dormitory was calm when they went to sleep, but everything changed suddenly in the middle of the night when a shout broke the silence and alerted students to the danger.
“So when we slept, it was around 12 am, when somebody in the dorm shouted, 'Everyone should get out of the dorm, the dorm is on fire. '” “Everybody was confused because they didn’t know what to do,” she explained.
Official reports indicate that the fire broke out in the dormitory block in the early hours of Thursday morning, May 28, 2026, quickly spreading through the building while most students were asleep. Investigators are still working to establish what caused the blaze.
The student said attempts to follow evacuation procedures were quickly overwhelmed as panic set in and escape routes became unsafe.
“So we had no other option but to use the pathway of Cube Six and Cube Seven, which is the designated route we were supposed to follow in order to vacate the dorm,” she explained.
She added that conditions worsened as she tried to get out, with flames already blocking the exit path that students had been relying on.
“By the time I was coming out of Cube, the fire had already covered the pathway of Cube Six and Cube Seven, which was the only route we were using to evacuate the dorm.”
As smoke thickened inside the dormitory, breathing became difficult for many students, forcing some to seek any possible way out of the building.
“Some of my cubemates were suffocating. We had no option but to open the window,” she noted.
She described how the situation turned even more dangerous as students faced limited escape options, leading to desperate jumps from upper floors in an effort to survive.
“We had to jump from the upper door down, and I ended up breaking my hand and my leg. When I fell down, I couldn’t feel my feet or my hand, and I passed out,” she said.
Medical updates indicate that dozens of students were rushed to hospital with injuries ranging from fractures to smoke inhalation. Officials reported that 71 students had been treated and discharged, while others were still under care.
The survivor said she only regained awareness after reaching hospital, where she later learned the extent of her injuries.
“I didn’t know what happened to me after that, but only when I arrived at the hospital that I came back to my senses. I later learned I had a fracture in my leg and my hand,” she stressed.
She added that beyond the physical pain, the experience has left her struggling emotionally and mentally.
“I am in so much pain right now, psychologically, mentally, and physically. I have trauma from what has happened,” she narrated.
The incident has once again raised national concern over repeated fire tragedies in boarding schools across the country, with safety standards and emergency preparedness coming under renewed scrutiny.
Past tragedies include the 2001 Kyanguli Secondary School fire, which claimed 67 students, and the 2024 Endarasha Academy fire, which killed 21 pupils, according to past national safety records.
President William Ruto has in previous similar incidents expressed condolences to affected families and directed investigations into school safety systems, while the Ministry of Education has repeatedly pledged reforms aimed at improving dormitory safety, fire response readiness and emergency evacuation procedures.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has confirmed that investigations into the Utumishi Girls Academy fire are ongoing, warning against speculation as forensic experts work to determine the cause.
As families await answers, the survivor’s account paints a painful picture of a night filled with confusion, fear and lasting injury, as a place meant for learning turned into a scene of tragedy.