Hillside Endarasha: Kenya Power Denies Claims Faulty Electricity Line Caused Fire That Killed 21

• Kenya Power has sought to absolve itself of accusations of irresponsibility that might have caused the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire
• Twenty-one learners died, and several others were injured, with some quarters attributing the inferno to a supposed faulty power line
• In its preliminary probe, Kenya Power said its installations supplying the school were intact at the time of the tragedy, striking off the claims of faulty transmission

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nyeri - Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has denied responsibility in the Hillside Endarasha Academy tragic fire that killed 21 learners.

The tragedy befell the school on Thursday night, September 5, when a dormitory housing 156 boys caught fire.

Reports emerged that the inferno could have been caused by an apparent faulty line, therefore implicating the utility firm.

What Kenya power discovered over Endarasha Academy fire

But after its quick probe, Kenya Power suggested the fire was accidental and was not caused by unstable connectivity.

According to the company, the main line supplying the school from the Mweiga sub-station is low-voltage.

At the time the fire erupted, the supply had been seamless with no incidences reported.

Kenya Power added that the installations, including the meter, supply cable, earthing, low-voltage and high-tension fuses, and the transformer, were intact at the time of the incident, thus absolving itself of the accusations.

"The fire did not affect two prepaid meters located within the larger school’s complex. This was the case for all other adjacent customers supplied by the same transformer. Based on the findings of the preliminary analysis of our protection system, from the meter box to the substation where the medium voltage line serving the school emanates from, we have ascertained there was no link between the cause of the fire and any fault on our network," the company said in a statement seen by TUKO.co.ke.

It promised to cooperate with the investigators in the ongoing probe to establish the real cause of the fire.

Earlier, details had revealed that a faulty bulb might have caused the tragic fire.

How Endarasha Adacemy fire started

A survivor learner said the fire started after a bulb exploded and lit the mattress under it.

The bedding in the pinnacle of a double-decker bed was lit after sparks from the exploded bulb scattered on it.

One of the pupils ran out to fetch water to extinguish the fire but did not get it.

When he returned, he found the fire spreading, prompting him to call other pupils and the matron to help extinguish it, but it was too late.

The survivor and some other learners managed to escape using a door adjacent to another dormitory used by Grade 8 learners.

It later emerged that some bodies were found stacked in the doorway with responders appearing to move them from the dormitory to an open field.

The deceased, averagely aged 9, were burnt beyond recognition.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke