A fire destroyed a dormitory housing 340 Form Three and Four students at Hill School in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, early on Tuesday, with no injuries reported.

The fire broke out at around 5 a.m., the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said, while students were attending morning preparations in classrooms rather than in the dormitory. "This morning, KRCS responded to a fire incident at Hill School, Eldoret, which broke out at around 5am and affected a dormitory housing some 340 Form 3 and 4 students," the organisation said in a statement. "The fire has since been contained. No injuries were reported, as all students were in morning preps at the time."

The Uasin Gishu County fire brigade and KRCS led the emergency response, working alongside the county coordinator, police and members of the local community. The roof of the dormitory was destroyed, according to one broadcaster, and students lost most of their personal property, though the fire was contained before spreading further.

County Police Commander Wilberforce Sicharani visited the school with a team of senior security officers and opened an investigation into the cause of the blaze, which had not been established as of Tuesday afternoon. A teacher at the school said the extent of the damage was still being assessed.

KRCS said it was providing psychosocial support to affected students and conducting a rapid needs assessment to determine the extent of the damage and inform next steps.

**Part of a wider pattern**

The incident adds to a string of fires at Kenyan boarding schools this year. At least 37 separate school fire incidents have been logged and responded to by emergency agencies including the Kenya Red Cross since January, alongside broader unrest recorded in more than 100 institutions, according to Citizen Digital.

The fire comes as a High Court in Kibera is hearing a separate case against eight minors charged with murder over a dormitory fire that killed 16 students at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County in May, a case that has intensified scrutiny of boarding school fire safety nationally.

Hill School in Eldoret runs both primary and secondary sections. Kenyan authorities have in recent months urged schools to strengthen fire-safety measures, student leadership structures and grievance-handling systems in boarding facilities, following the rise in dormitory fires and unrest this year.