Hillside Endarasha Parent Hails 12-Year-Old Son Who Saved 2 Pupils From Burning Dorm: "My Hero"

• Although Paul Kung'u was saddened that a fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy killed 21 children, he is proud of his son, who rescued other pupils
• According to Louis Kiringa, he was asleep when it got unbearably hot in the dorm, so he woke up and started running out; on the way, he alerted one of the boys who was still asleep
• The young man said he helped a boy jump from the window while the other boy was taken by the teacher, and he has never seen the latter since then

Murang'a - A young father is proud of his son, who saved two pupils from the fire that razed a dormitory at Hillside Endarasha Academy.

Why does Kung'u label his son a hero?

In an interview with Nation, Paul Kung'u said he was in Thika for business when he learnt of the fire that broke out at 3 am.

"Iam very happy that my son, Louis Kiringa, saved the lives of his fellow pupils, I see my son and label him a hero. I am very happy," said Kung'u.

How did Kiringa rescue himself, schoolmate?

Kiringa shared that he was already asleep in the dorm when he started feeling that it had become too hot.

"I saw other pupils running and I also started following them and on the way I saw a boy, who was still sleeping, I woke him up and told him to wake the other one so we started running. I told him to jump so that I can go for the other one," he said.

"As we were about to jump out of the windows,a teacher pulled him; I jumped with the other one after seeing that happen. I don't know if the one who was picked by the teacher was taken to the hospital; I haven't seen him since then," he added.

Kenyans react to the hero

mmangawakodu:

"Should be awarded the medal of honours."

aww2615:

"Eish. What does he mean hambadilishi shule?"

wokabezo

"Clearly no sprinkler systems, no fire alarm systems or even smoke detectors, no fire extinguishers, even simple first aid kits, No emergencybkighting, Exit plans, prefire plans!!!!!!! Nothing😭😭😭😭 Are we students living in a dorms or a cow sheds."

Cecilia:

"May our good God comfort the hearts of this family."

Parent says he doesn't plan to transfer son from school

In another story, Kung'u insisted that his son would continue attending Hillside Endarasha Academy despite the fire incident.

Kung'u also recounted how he received the news about the tragic fire incident at the school his son attended

The fire that erupted at the school on Thursday, September 5, claimed the lives of 21 pupils and injured at least 27 others.

What you need to know about Hillside Endarasaha fire

• Patrick Gikandi described his fear upon learning of a fire outbreak at Hillside Endarasha Academy, where his son studies
• A parent wailed uncontrollably as an unidentified group tried providing them with food while they were waiting for the news about their missing children
• The fire, which broke out on Thursday, September 5, claimed the lives of 21 pupils out of the 156 who were in the dormitory that night

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke