Are schools ready to deal with fire outbreaks?

Two schools in Ruhango District, Southern Province, were this week ravaged by fires in two separate incidents.The first fire on Monday evening reduced a dormitory at Byimana School of Sciences to ashes. Property worth millions was destroyed in the dormitory that housed 155 O-Level male students. The school chapel was also razed. This was the second fire to destroy property at Byimana in less than a month.As district authorities gathered to mobilise support for the Byimana School and discuss the way forward to avoid such incidents, bad news struck again; a fire was reported at College Bethel.The fire at College Bethel (also known as APARUDE - the Association des Parents de Ruhango pour la Promotion de l’Education) broke out on Tuesday, at around 1pm, also destroying a dormitory and property including students’ bedding and scholastic materials.The Aparude incident occurred less than 24 hours after the Byimana fire.In both incidents, students were not injured but emotionally affected.The fires raised many questions over how schools are prepared to deal with such incidents. Ill-equipped Though the real cause of the fires is yet to be known, what happened at Byimana Secondary School and APARUDE can happen at any school in the country.And indeed there have been several fire outbreaks in the country over the last few months – destroying shops, bars, pubs, restaurants, private houses and school buildings.District officials that visited the schools cited short circuits and poor installation as the reason behind the recent school fires but alluded that installing the equipment is very costly.A visit to a number of secondary schools upcountry reveals a simliar trend: many of the schools have no fire fighting equipment; there are no clear escape routes and no clear strategy to protect children against any disasters such as fires.At the two Ruhango schools, authorities acknowledge that they were taken by surprise and that they had not planned for such situations.The Director of Byimana School, Brother Alphonse Gahima, told Saturday Times that the two infernos have been an ‘eye opener’ for the school in terms of disaster preparedness.“After the first fire broke out [on April 23], we started devising strategies to deal with any other disaster that might break out,” he said. Unfortunately, the second fire struck before any strategy was developed, although they had started removing wire mesh from all windows ‘so as to ease escape in case of any other fire outbreak or another disaster.’“The incidents have left us with a lot of lessons,” Brother Gahima said.Jean Claude Niyitanga, the APARUDE headteacher, told Saturday Times on Wednesday that they are planning to buy fire extinguishers to prepare for any future fire outbreaks.While speaking to Saturday Times on Tuesday, the Southern Region Police Spokesperson Chief Superintendent Hubert Gashagaza urged schools to install fire extinguishers to guarantee the safety of their students and staff.RegulationsOn Tuesday, Byimana administration and students met with officials from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs (Midmar). The meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education, Matthias Harebamungu, was also attended by local leaders in Ruhango District as well as army and police officers. It was aimed at finding a way to avoid any future disasters from happening.There have been efforts to raise awareness among school authorities over the necessity of installing fire extinguishers and other comprehensive mechanisms to ensure the safety of students. The campaign was spearheaded by Midmar in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education.According to officials, Midmar has up to today established Disaster Management Clubs in 120 schools and the initiative continues. The clubs are supposed to examine schools safety and awareness and participate in response activities in case of disasters. But, the ministry is also working on fire safety regulations, which are due to be issued ‘very soon’ as they are in their final stage.The plan involves, among others, installing the necessary fire fighting equipment in every institution, training staff to operate them and insurance for property which might be razed by fires.A 2009 “Child Friendly Schools Infrastructure Standards and Guidelines,” for Primary and O-Level schools lists a number of ‘must haves’ vis-à-vis students’ safety.The documents require schools to ensure, among other things, that there is an escape route out on the building and an outward opening door of the dormitory in case of fire outbreaks. There should also be special precaution in dormitories and kitchens.However, as fires keep ravaging buildings, it seems the document has been partly ignored by schools.

National

Are schools ready to deal with fire outbreaks?