Twelve youngsters were safely evacuated when a fire broke out at the Jomo Kenyatta Home for the Physically Disabled in Embu.

Following the tragedy, property valued at millions of shillings was destroyed.

According to preliminary accounts, the fire spread to a dormitory and a kitchen within the facility.

The school, which opened in 1965 in Kirimari Ward in Embu's Manyatta Constituency, serves students with various impairments.

Meanwhile, residents and police officers have urged the county administration to establish a professional fire department.

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"The fire would have been contained in good time if we had a proper fire department in place. We had to once again ask for support from Tharaka Nithi," police said.

The incident came amid growing clamour for a functional department.

Governor Cecily Mbarire dismissed two officers earlier this year due to laxity, but villagers claim nothing has changed.