All the 58 children at Mama Ngina Children’s Home in Kisumu were evacuated safely on Wednesday evening after a fire broke out and destroyed the upper section of a dormitory at the facility.
The fire started at about 4pm on Wednesday, shortly after the children had taken their evening tea, according to the home’s Manager Hellen Tuli.
Tuli said a staff member noticed smoke bellowing from part of the roof and immediately raised the alarm, prompting a swift evacuation.
“Thankfully, there was no child upstairs at the time. We thank God today for saving the lives of the children. It would have been a different story,” she said.
She added that preliminary observations suggested that the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault, but emphasised that investigations would determine the exact cause.
“Since there was no child in the dormitory when the fire started, we suspect it could have been an electrical fault. In due course we will know what really caused it,” she added.
Tuli also expressed gratitude to members of the public and emergency responders who rushed to the scene.
“The community from Kibuye were the first responders. We also thank the city fire teams, JRS, Kenya Pipeline, the Kenya Police, Kenya Red Cross and everyone who came through to help. We are also grateful to Agape Children’s Home for hosting our children,” she said.
The displaced children have since been temporarily relocated to Agape Children’s Home, where they are receiving shelter, care and psychosocial support as authorities assess the damage.
Nyanza Regional Commissioner Flora Mworoa, who toured the scene with members of the regional security team, described the incident as unfortunate but expressed relief that no lives were lost.
“The upper part of the dormitory has been completely burnt down, but I am happy to announce that all our children are safe. They have all been evacuated and none of them has suffered any injury,” said Mworoa.
She commended residents living near the institution for their swift response, noting that they were the first to respond before emergency teams arrived.
“I want to thank the people living around this place because they helped us a lot as first responders,” she said.
However, the regional administrator warned against attempts by some youths to take advantage of the incident to vandalise the facility.
“We have seen a few incidences of young people who want to vandalise this facility. That is very wrong. We have all come here to save this institution and anyone with that intention should desist,” she cautioned.
Firefighters from the Kisumu City Fire Department contained the blaze with support from teams drawn from the JRS Fire Brigade, Kenya Pipeline Corporation Fire Brigade, and the Kibos Firefighting Unit. Officers from the Kenya Police Service and personnel from the Kenya Red Cross also assisted in evacuation and securing the scene.
Police have launched investigations to establish the exact cause of the fire, while county officials are expected to provide guidance on rehabilitation of the damaged dormitory.
By Faith Lumumba
