An elderly woman weeps at a cordoned off scene after a fire outbreak at Salama School of the Blind in Mukono, Uganda, Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)
A deadly fire outbreak that killed 11 children and injured six others at a school in central Uganda on Tuesday has reawakened fire safety concerns in schools in the east African country.
MUKONO, Uganda, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- A deadly fire outbreak that killed 11 children and injured six others at a school in central Uganda on Tuesday has reawakened fire safety concerns in schools in the east African country.
The 1 a.m. fire that occurred in the Mukono district neighboring Uganda's capital city Kampala engulfed a girl's dormitory, housing 26 visually impaired children, leaving 11 dead and six critically injured, according to police.
Luke Owoyesigyire, spokesperson of Kampala Metropolitan Police, in a statement, said an investigation has started to establish what caused the fire at the Salam School of the Blind.
Francis Kinubi, head teacher of the school, which has a total population of 76 pupils, was quoted by the Observer, a local newspaper, as saying that the fire started from the side without power connectivity, making it hard to say that it was sparked by any power fault.
A man carries his blind son who survived a fire outbreak at Salama School of the Blind in Mukono, Uganda, Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)
James Birungi, head of military intelligence, said while there are a lot of allegations regarding the cause of the fire, investigations will lead to the root cause. Birungi, who visited the scene, said they have heard the school has had some land wrangles and some internal management misunderstandings.
Fire incidents are common in Ugandan schools although most are not deadly. The Tuesday tragic incident is the second to happen in Ugandan schools this year.
The last deadly fire was in January when four children died in a fire outbreak in a school in the capital Kampala. In 2018, at least nine students were killed in a fire that broke out at a high school in central Uganda. Before the 2018 incident, another fatal school fire happened in 2008, killing 19 pupils at Budo Junior School in the Wakiso district.
In the Tuesday incident, parents gathered outside the school gate, each demanding to know whether their child is safe.
Fatuma Ndisaba, Resident District Commissioner (Mukono) told reporters that the children between the ages of 7 to 10 years were burnt beyond recognition. She said they can only be identified using DNA.
Jane Namatovu, a parent, got a call from the school administration informing her of an inferno. "I was home in Mukono when the school called me that my child has died in the fire outbreak. I couldn't believe till I came here, although I have not been allowed even to reach where her charred body lay in the dormitory," Namatovu said.
People gather outside the school after a fire outbreak at Salama School of the Blind in Mukono, Uganda, Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)
For Annet Namukisa, she was lucky that her daughter was among those who survived. "I came to collect my child after I heard of this terrible tragedy. Thank God, she is among the survivors," Namukisa said.
Anita Among, Speaker of Parliament, described the death of the 11 children as heartbreaking, calling for an investigation into the incident.
"Our sympathies go to the bereaved families and we wish the injured a quick recovery. Parliament expects a proper investigation to get to the bottom of it!" Among said.
Police in March this year said arsonists are to blame for a number of school fires. According to police, between January and March this year, 18 school fire incidents had been recorded.
Rescue efforts have often been hampered by overcrowding and the lack of firefighting equipment at schools.
Speaking at the launch of a school safety campaign in March, George Mutekanga, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Private Schools and Institutions of Higher Learning said a report into school fires had shown that the majority of these incidences occur in private schools. The fires were also mostly attributed to the internal intrigue within the school administrations followed by electrical issues.
The Police Fire and Rescue Services officers at the safety campaign urged schools to inculcate a culture of safety among learners in order to ensure that they can ably respond to any fire outbreak. ■
