Fire ravages girls school in Haripur

A fire caused by a short circuit broke out in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Sirikot. As a result, the ceilings of the rooms, the wooden furniture and school records were burnt to ashes.

The school had around 600 female students present in the school on the day of the incident. Everyone was able to be safely evacuated and no casualties were reported. The fire was completely brought under control and the cooling process continued without any obstruction. The rescue operation was conducted with the involvement of the Haripur Rescue 1122 firefighter team.

Haripur District President Sahibzada Hamid Shah also arrived at the scene of the incident for inspection and support.

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As per sources in the vicinity of the school, the fire broke out due to a short circuit, and as soon as the Haripur Rescue 1122 was alerted, they sent out fire vehicles to the area and began rescue operations. Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Ghazi also took part in the rescue operation. Many civilians had gathered at the location at the time of the incident and had lent a hand in the operation.

In the meantime, the education department has also formed a three-member team to estimate the damage, which will submit its report to the higher officials in the next two days. The team will also investigate the reasons behind why the old wires, which had caused the short circuit, had not been replaced beforehand.

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A departmental inquiry will be conducted after identifying those responsible. The police have also registered an initial report of the incident.

CM takes notice

Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur took notice of the fire incident that occurred at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Sirikot.

Gandapur praised the timely action taken for the rescue operation which led to the safe evacuation of all students. Furthermore, he instructed that the Department of Education and the concerned district administration should determine the reasons for the incident and submit a report soon.

“The damage caused to the school building due to fire should be repaired immediately so that educational activities can be continued, and all educational institutions should be checked so that such accidents do not happen in future,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2024.