138 students affected by fire at Wa Islamic SHS Dormitory – Headmaster

The Headmaster of Wa Islamic Senior High School, Al-Hassan A. Bafara, has disclosed that 138 students were affected by a fire outbreak at the school’s girls’ dormitory in the Upper West Region.

The incident occurred on Sunday, August 2, with personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service arriving at the scene about 30 to 35 minutes after receiving the distress call and managing to bring the fire under control.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Bafara said the affected students lost almost all their personal belongings in the fire.

‎”Six rooms were involved, and 138 students were affected. They have lost almost everything,” he said.
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‎He explained that school authorities, together with teachers, had decided to allow the displaced students to return home temporarily and come back over the weekend ahead of their examinations next week.
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‎”The affected girls have been asked to go home and return over the weekend because they have exams next week. The other students have been relocated to classrooms for temporary accommodation since the Form Three students have completed school,” he stated.
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‎The headmaster noted that the school had previously experienced similar fire outbreaks but insisted management had taken several measures to improve electrical safety and strengthen surveillance on campus.
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‎”Since I came to this school, we have done a lot. We engaged certified electricians to completely rewire the dining hall and another dormitory block that had electrical challenges. We also deployed cadet students to monitor the dormitories every evening until lights out. This incident therefore came as a surprise,” he said.

He added that there was currently no evidence of foul play, although investigations were ongoing.
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‎”For now, we have not seen anything suspicious from our internal investigations. Students can sometimes do unexpected things, but we cannot conclude anything until investigations are completed,” he said.

The Wa Municipal chief executive, Alhaji Nurah Issah Danwanna, who visited the school after the incident, said they were working with management to find temporary accommodation for the displaced students.
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‎The MCE said it was considering accelerating work on an uncompleted dormitory block to provide additional accommodation.
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‎Meanwhile, the Ghana National Fire Service says the exact cause of the fire has not yet been established.

The Upper West Regional Fire Commander, ACFO II Kofi Obosu, explained that investigators were examining several possible causes, including electrical faults, slow combustion from combustible materials, and the possible misuse of electrical appliances by students.

“We are looking at all possible causes, including electrical challenges, smouldering combustion and the use of electrical appliances such as charging devices, electric irons and other equipment by students. Our professional assessment is ongoing,” he said.

He assured the public that a comprehensive investigation report would be released before the end of the week.

The Fire Service also urged educational institutions to strengthen fire safety measures by training campus fire volunteers, ensuring fire extinguishers are readily accessible and installing fire hydrants in schools to improve emergency response.