Fire Destroys Nabisunsa Dorm

By Steven Candiaand Miria SidneyA HUGE fire destroyed what once stood as Annex dormitory at Nabisunsa Girls School. The Thursday night inferno also burnt down a German language laboratory at the school, about 7km from Kampala city, causing extensive damage to property estimated in millions of shillings.About 100 students, all members of the Annex dormitory, lost all their property in the fire that is believed to have started at about 8:00pm. The students were in class for preps.Students said the language laboratory, which was attached to the dormitory, had just been renovated. The head of the German Department and a teacher in the school, Nuhu Kanyike, said the dormitory housed both senior one and senior two students. “Fortunately enough, when the fire started, there were no students in the dormitory. Preps begin at 7:30pm and the headgirl had locked the dormitory,” Kanyike said.He said a lot of property could have been salvaged if the fire brigade had responded in good time.“We called them as soon as the fire started but they arrived half an hour later,” a visibly riled Kanyike said.The Chief Fire Officer, Joseph Mugisa, said the fire fighters were delayed in two different traffic jams.Kanyike said the portable fire extinguishers they resorted to failed to tame the fire that rapidly ate away at the property. By the time the New Vision reached the scene at about 8:30pm, hundreds of terrified students in their uniforms crowded at the school’s main gate as the Police battled with the fire that had already done substantial damage.One student was heard lamenting about the fire, saying it meant starting all over again. Another sat on the grass, motionless with her back to the conflagration, her head cupped in her palms.“I can’t imagine that all my property has gone with that fire. It means that I have to start all over again,” the student said.The school authorities and the police could not readily ascertain the cause of the fire. “What is most important at the moment is finding accommodation for girls who have lost their property,” Kanyike said. By 8:35pm, the roof of the building had caved in and major cracks had developed in the wall, which was only left with a few window frames.The school administration and the Police could not readily establish the monetary value of the property lost.Ends