Police, in conjunction with the fire and rescue services, are investigating a fire breakout at a school in Kamuli District, Uganda.

The fire that started on Saturday, October 14 evening saw a dormitory that houses 101 students at Kamuli Girls Primary School reduced to ashes.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire originated from an unoccupied lower bed in Bungu House – a dormitory that houses Primary 7 candidates who are due to sit for their national exams.

“The student on the upper bed felt the heat and promptly reported it to the matron. Upon receiving the alert, the matron attempted to combat the fire with an extinguisher during its early stages,” Uganda Police Force says.

Students evacuated

Despite the efforts of the staff, the fire proved uncontrollable and priority was given to evacuation of students over belongings.

Fortunately, swift action by the matron ensured the safe evacuation of the students to a secure location.

“Our Fire and Rescue Services team successfully extinguished the flames. Regrettably, the pupils’ belongings, including bedding, metallic cases containing books, and personal effects, were all consumed by the fire,” adds the police.

Candidates sent home

The Kamuli Municipal Education Officer – Joseph Musoke – says the candidates will go for a psychological counselling with their parents until Tuesday, October 17.

At least 749,371 candidates are expected to sit for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in Uganda, starting from November 7 to 9.

“Our biggest relief is that all the 101 candidates are safe, alive and we know that they will perform better in the exams because they have been well prepared and are now using this remaining time for revision,” Musoke told Monitor.