Fire guts Rushanje Girls school dormitory

Rwamapara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Fire has gutted a dormitory at Rushanje Girls School in Rwamapara district reducing students’ properties to ashes. The fire gutted the welfare dormitory that accommodates 180 students on Tuesday night.

Gertrude Atukunda, the school headmistress says that the fire broke out at around 8:00 pm as the girls were attending night preps. She explains that they first heard a loud burst followed by a huge fire a few minutes later in the middle of the dormitory.

She says that they managed to put out the fire using water from a nearby tap and two fire extinguishers in her office and by the time the police fire team arrived at around 11:40pm, they had already managed it. No student was injured or killed in the fire.

Namberto Tibarohoza, the LC1 chairperson of Rushanje cell, says that he received a call from the school matron and also heard alarms from the students in the school, which prompted him to run to their rescue but unfortunately they were closed outside the school gate by the police.

Steven Kamara, the Rwampara District Police Commander says that they deployed outside to keep the girls safe. He says that they are yet to establish the cause of the fire and have commenced inquiries.

This is the second school dormitory to burn in less than a week. On Friday last week, a fire gutted another dormitory at Mbarara Secondary School in Mbarara city.

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