At least 16 people have died and 73 have been taken to hospital after the fire in a dormitory at the school, a police source told the AFP news agency.
According to media reports, the fire broke out at Utumishi Girls Academy around 1 a.m., but the alarm was only raised around 3:30 a.m., the Kenyan Red Cross said on X.
Around 220 girls were sleeping in the dormitory where the fire broke out. The school is linked to the national police authority and is in an area with several army training facilities.
The school is located around 120 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi, according to local media.
Many of the students' parents have made their way to the school grounds.
Kenya, where boarding schools are common, has suffered many devastating school fires.
