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eventREF E-0095318Revised

Event record

A fire in a boarding school in Kenya kills fifty-eight boys and seriously injures twenty-eight others

Updated
30 Sep 2019
A fire in a boarding school in Kenya kills fifty-eight boys and seriously injures twenty-eight others

Fire Source: https://blogs.sbschools.org

More than 50 teenage boys died when their dormitory caught fire in a secondary school near Nairobi, Kenya. The raging fire is reported to have spread quickly burning the victims beyond recognition. The boys were sleeping when the fire started and most managed to get to safety.  Some, however, got trapped inside when the roof of the dormitory caved in and could not escape. About 28 boys were admitted to hospital with minor to severe burns. The police suspected arson and carried out an investigation. It is considered one of Kenya’s deadliest fires.

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How we know this

  1. 01Hurriyet Daily News, "Kenya dorm fire kills 58 teenage boys, injures 28",From: Hurriyet Daily News,[online] Available at: www.hurriyetdailynews.com [Accessed on 15 March 2013]
  2. 02TVNZ, "Kenya dorm fire kills 58 boys", From:TVNZ,[online] Available at: ww.tvnz.co.nz [Accessed on 15  March 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, March 20). A fire in a boarding school in Kenya kills fifty-eight boys and seriously injures twenty-eight others. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095318

South African History Online (2013) 'A fire in a boarding school in Kenya kills fifty-eight boys and seriously injures twenty-eight others', South African History Online, 20 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095318 (Accessed: 5 September 2026).

South African History Online, A fire in a boarding school in Kenya kills fifty-eight boys and seriously injures twenty-eight others [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095318, (accessed 5 September 2026).

"A fire in a boarding school in Kenya kills fifty-eight boys and seriously injures twenty-eight others." South African History Online, 20 Mar. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095318. Accessed 5 Sept. 2026.

South African History Online. "A fire in a boarding school in Kenya kills fifty-eight boys and seriously injures twenty-eight others." South African History Online. March 20, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095318.

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