Kamuli Girls Primary School has temporarily been closed after the Friday night fire that gutted the P7 dormitory, resulting in the loss of all the pupils’ belongings.

The dormitory housed more than 100 pupils, all of whom escaped unharmed. The learners attribute their safe escape to the presence of multiple exit points and spaces between the beds.

Joseph Musoke, the Kamuli Municipality Education Officer, explained that a meeting was convened, involving teachers, parents, and police authorities, which unanimously decided to temporarily close the school. He said this is meant to allow for a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the fire.

Musoke says that his period is intended to provide the students with psychosocial support from their families, as they recover from the trauma caused by the dormitory fire. He emphasized that the school would reopen only after ensuring that all necessary measures were in place to prevent similar accidents and to ensure the safety of both learners and teaching staff.

Musoke encouraged parents to provide their children with study materials to allow for revision sessions in preparation for their upcoming primary leaving examinations.

Busoga North Police spokesperson, Michael Kasadha, reported that investigations are still ongoing, and a detailed report on the exact cause of the fire will be released to the public once the inquiries are complete. He added that police personnel have been deployed to secure the scene to prevent contamination, allowing detectives to collect viable evidence.

A pupil, who spoke about the incident on condition of anonymity, said that the fire was initially detected on the rooftop before spreading to other parts of the dormitory. They promptly alerted their warden, who rang the emergency bell, allowing all the girls to evacuate the dormitory before it was entirely consumed by flames. A teacher, also preferring anonymity, revealed that the fire initially produced smoke and minor flames.

They attempted to control it internally but decided to call the fire brigade when significant flames erupted from the rooftop.