Makkah school fire under investigation

The Civil Defense in Makkah is conducting an in-depth investigation into the causes of a blaze that hit Talaie Al-Fikr Secondary School for Boys in the holy city’s Al-Nuriyyah district. Civil Defense officers have questioned a number of teachers on the possible causes of the fire and the state of the school grounds on the day of the fire, Al-Madinah newspaper reported. It did not reveal when the fire took place but said if any foul play was discovered, those responsible would be arrested. School undersecretary Bandar Maghnam Al-Sulami said the fire started at a classroom in the first year building during the last period while all students were in the computer lab. He said the door was locked because there was no door handle from outside. "I had to break open the door. I used the fire extinguishers to put out the fire despite the heavy smoke," he said. The official said he opened all emergency exits and then went to the classrooms to tell the students that the school day had ended earlier than usual and they had to leave. "I did not want to spread panic among them and I wanted them to go out smoothly without any sense of danger," he said.Many students thanked him for not creating panic and said he was composed and fearless. Abdullah Al-Magati, a student, said there was no smell of anything burning or smoke that would make them panic. "The undersecretary came to our classroom and he told us quietly that the school day was over and we had to leave in an organized manner. We did. Nobody was hurt or injured thanks to him," he said. Waseem Al-Jahdali, another student, agreed with his schoolmate and said the undersecretary had saved their lives. "More than 100 students went out safely through the emergency exits," he said. School Principal Muhammad Al-Shahani explained that the school consists of two buildings, one for first year students and another for the second and third year students. He said the fire started with a table burning in one of the classrooms. "There were no students in the classroom when the fire broke out. All the students were having computer lessons in the computer lab. The Civil Defense and the Department of Education were duly informed," he said.