Adhere to standards to avert fire outbreaks, officials tell schools
Authorities in Masaka City have told school proprietors to adhere to security and safety measures to avert cases of fire outbreaks in learning institutions.
On Friday, Masaka City principal education officer Steven Kakeeto advised school proprietors to regularly hire professional electricians to check their wiring systems in all buildings especially dormitories to prevent electric short circuits partially blamed for most school fires .
“Schools should have fire extinguishers and also conduct regular sensitization campaigns on their usage among learners,” he added.
According to him, learners must also be equipped with general knowledge regarding fire detection.
His call comes three days after fire gutted a girls’ dormitory at Masaka Secondary School.
Kakeeto called on the public to desist from blame games in such times of danger.
“In this particular case [of Masaka SS], candidates lost all their belongings including reading materials, yet they have a few weeks to sit their final exams. If you start blaming people, the students end up failing to do their papers well,” he observed as he urged consolation.
Masaka Secondary School head teacher Hajji Musa Mpungu said the school has since provided basic items like mattresses, blankets, shoes, basins, soap and clothes to the affected 47 students using its resources.
“The school board of governors has also okayed our plan to renovate the gutted dormitory to more improved standards and we promise to do exactly that,” he emphasized on Friday.
Jamadah Wandera, the acting southern regional police spokesperson said findings show that the fire was a result of an electric short circuit that started from an electric pole connecting power to the burnt dormitory.
“Such cases [fire outbreaks in schools] can be averted by using qualified personnel to connect electricity and following other safety and security measures issued by the Ministry of Education. We have observed that many schools are still reluctant to enforce these guidelineS,” Wandera noted.
