Bukoba — KAGERA: A DORMITORY at Omumwani Girls' Secondary School in Bukoba Municipal, Kagera Region was on Sunday night gutted by fire, causing a big loss to properties.
However, there were no casualties, it has been disclosed.
Bukoba District Commissioner (DC) Mr Erasto Sima said about 50 students were admitted to the Bukoba Regional Referral Hospital for shock treatment, but were in stable condition.
He added that the Disaster Management Committee (DMC) had already visited the school to make assessment on the extent caused by the inferno on the infrastructures.
"Initial investigations reveal that the fire broke out at around 8.00 p.m. on Sunday night as Form Five and Form Six girl students were studying in their classrooms. However, there were no casualties. The cause of the fire is still being investigated," he said.
Mr Sima said the dormitory has capacity to accommodate about 244 students, adding that most of the damaged properties include beds, mattresses, books and other students' belongings.
The incident comes a few days after heavy rain accompanied by strong winds pounded Bukoba Municipal last Wednesday. One person was killed by a falling tree at Rwamishenye Ward while about 106 houses were unroofed including a healthy centre at Kashai Ward and a Catholic church-owned building at Rwamishenye Ward.
Omumwani secondary school which was initially owned by the ruling party CCM - Parents Wing was taken over by the government following the 5.7 Richter scale magnitude earthquake that hit Kagera Region in 2016.
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About 17 people were reported to have died during the tremor, while 170 patients were admitted to several hospitals for treatment. Also, about 2,072 houses collapsed while 14,525 others (houses) developed major cracks.
About 353 schools including 110 secondary schools and 243 primary schools in Kagera region were badly damaged by the tremor while the government injected about 9bn/- to repair the damaged infrastructures.
Meanwhile, school owners in Kagera Region have been advised to install modern fire-fighting equipment to help their schools during fire tragedies and ensure the safety of students.
Kagera Regional Commissioner (RC), Ms Fatma Mwassa made the remarks following recent fire accidents that destroyed some dormitories in the country, resulting in the loss of lives and properties.
"We recently heard of fire accidents that destroyed some dormitories in the country resulting in the loss of lives and properties. So, we think school owners have to learn and install modern fire-fighting equipment for emergency," she said.
