HARIPUR: A massive fire burned a girls school in the Sirikot area here.

However, students and staff members remained unharmed.

Ghazi DSP Raja Mohammad Bashir Khan told Dawn that the circumstantial evidence showed that a short-circuit caused the fire at the Government Higher Secondary School for Girls, set up in the early 1970s.

He said as there was a delay in the response on part of firefighters, mainly due to the hilly terrain, the fire caused the roofs of the entire building to cave in.

The DSP said the building was no longer safe for use.

School employees said the fire erupted in a classroom at around 8:40am and immediately spread to the other rooms, destroying roofs made of CGI sheets and wood.

They said the firefighters got there only after the entire building was on fire.

The employees said they, with the help of villagers, shifted over 600 girl students to safety on time.

The school administration claimed it informed the police after the fire broke out, and a police contingent showed up to help control the fire.

It added that fire engines from Ghazi, Haripur, and Tarbela areas and those of Rescue 1122 also got there one after another and extinguished the fire almost two and a half hours after its eruption.

The police and school administration said the fire destroyed all 14 classrooms, the office of the principal, the staff room, and the offices of clerical staff, along with records, books, and furniture.

The DSP said the evidence supported the claim that the fire was caused by a short-circuit.

He, however, said an inquiry had been launched on the orders of the provincial government to find out the cause of the fire.

PK-42 MPA Naveed Iqbal, tehsil nazim Sahibzada Qasim Shah, the deputy commissioner and the deputy police officer also visited the school.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2024