Tragic fire at Ugandan Anglican school

BBC News is reporting that a tragic fire of suspicious origins has swept through the Anglican Buddo Junior School girls’ dormitory in Uganda:

It is estimated that more than 60 girls were in the dormitory when the fire started at 2200 local time (1900 GMT).

Some students speculated that the number could have been higher, as extra mattresses are often put on the floor.

A teacher said that the children had been in bed for about an hour when he was alerted to the fire by a porter.

“Getting here the dormitory was in full blast of flames so I quickly reorganised people and called for help from children to bring me water,” John Robert Okuudu, the director of studies, said.

“The fire brigade had not arrived yet and we began splashing water.”

Mr Okuudu says he helped open the doors at one end of the dormitory and the majority of the children escaped.

Some eyewitnesses say the dormitory doors may have been deliberately locked from the outside to prevent the pupils escaping.

An 11-year-old girl in a different hostel said it was not normal for the doors to be locked at night.

She said her friend, who had gone outside to the toilet just before the blaze, had seen something strange bouncing on the top of the dormitory roof.

Some parents, who came to take their children home, expressed concern about negligence.

The private school is under new management following earlier disputes and staff have recently been on strike over the non-payment of their salaries.

Read it here.

More coverage here.

The New York Times reports here.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh requests prayers for the Anglican school.

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