Tens of students were on Tuesday morning injured and lost valuables during a mock firefighting exercise organised at the Faculty of Education at Egerton University, Njoro. The drill took hundreds of students, staff and other employees at the complex by surprise as they scampered for safety from the seemingly burning building. Students lost valuables and got injured as they tried to exit the premises. According to Jacklyne Owour, a third year student, several of her colleagues lost mobile phones, money and valuable items while others were injured as they were trampled by others rushing to escape. “I think the university should come up with another method of teaching us about fire disasters but not like this one as it is equally dangerous. We can be taught in workshops or even as course units,” she said. The drill, which lasted between 10.30am and 1pm, was aimed at enlightening the university’s community about fire disaster and measures. It was organised by the security department and staged by the Nakuru County fire fighting personnel, the Red Cross Society and the university’s medical personnel. Addressing students and staff of the faculty after the exercise, the university chief security officer Absolom Koech said it was important for the university community to be aware of fire disasters so that they could have responsive skills and measures. He said: “It is part of the university’s safety-at-work programme to carry out fire drill exercises in all major sections of the university so that we create awareness and instill responsive skills and knowledge among our university members. Life is precious and fire is among the most lethal enemies of life.”

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