Africa-Press – Uganda. Police in Nebbi District are investigating the circumstances under which a Senior Two boys’ dormitory at Sunrise Secondary School caught fire destroying property worth millions of shillings.
According to Mr George Aguma, the Officer in Charge at Nebbi Central Police Station, the incident which occurred at around 8.30 PM on Monday is suspected to have been a result of an electrical short-circuit.
“We managed to rescue the lives of the students with the help of the nearby community members who came willingly to help the school when they heard an alarm from students. No death or serious injuries reported, but the students lost all of their scholastic materials,” he said.
The school Head teacher Mr Adiga Robinson said they are still puzzled about the cause of the fire.
“The fire brigade could not be reached in time to rescue the situation due to the long distance from Arua to Nebbi, but officers from Nebbi Police Station arrived on time and we used water to put out the rapidly spreading fire. One student sustained a minor injury in the process of struggling to rescue his properties,” he said, urging charity organizations to come to the students’ rescue by providing them with scholastic materials. Mr Adiga revealed that the dormitory was accommodating 40 students.
Nickson Maditkwo, one of the affected students says he heard an alarm from the study room echoed by the nearby community members and he was laidback, but later, he came out and found the dormitory was almost covered with fire.
“We are lucky that the incident happened when we were already in reading rooms, but if it had happened when we were in deep sleep, many of us would dead by now,” he said.
Mr John Ongwech, the school’s managing director, said the affected students would be relocated to a free classroom in the meantime as they wait for the police to complete the investigations and the way forward.
“In 2019 one of the students who resided within Nebbi town was caught red-handed setting fire on the beds of fellow students in the same dormitory, and the matter was taken to the police, but the suspect was released without our knowledge. We suspect the same boy is behind this incident,” he said.
