By Malik Fahad
Police in Masaka City are investigating circumstances under which a girls’ dormitory at Masaka Secondary School went up in flames on Tuesday morning and students’ property worth millions destroyed.
The 8am fire whose cause is still a mystery started when students were sleeping.
The devastating fire destroyed everything inside the dormitory including; mattresses, shoes, suitcases, clothes, and books.
“We first heard a big sound and in a few minutes fire started and quickly spread to the rest of the dormitory fueled by the highly flammable mattresses,” a female student only identified as Sumayyiyah told this reporter.
The gutted two-storeyed dormitory accommodated 47 Senior Five and Six students. Reports indicate that the ground floor of the dormitory wasn’t affected.
The school head teacher, Hajj Musa Musoke Mpungu has asked parents to stay calm as police continue to investigate the actual cause of the inferno.
“No student was lost in the fire , except the two girls that fainted following the incident. All occupants of the affected dormitory are safe, but their properties were all destroyed. The fire brigade team arrived in time and prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings,” he said
Southern regional acting police spokesperson, Mr Jamada Wandera said the fire could have been a result of an electrical short circuit.
“Our team is still on ground to gather more information to establish the actual cause. We ask parents to stay calm since the situation is now under control,” Wanmdera said.
Founded in 1954, Masaka SS, which is among the largest secondary schools in the country, has a student population of 4000 with the majority of them day scholars.
