Koforidua (Eastern Region) 22 Jan. '98

A fire outbreak in a six -room dormitory block of Koforidua secondary/technical school yesterday caused considerable damage to property worth several millions of cedis belonging to 82 students. It took a team of personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service from Koforidua more than three and a half hours to put the fire under control. The cause of the fire which started around 7.10 pm was not yet known. The fire started as the 82 students occupying the top of the block were at evening studies. Items destroyed included trunks, beds, mattresses, textbooks and note books. The students were left with only what they wore to studies. The headmaster of the school, Mr. J.Y. Bedjabeng said this when briefing the Eastern Regional Minister, Miss Patience Adow and Mr. Robert Ajene, Eastern Regional Director of Education, when they visited the school to see the extent of damage. At a meeting later, it was decided that the school authorities should provide transport and pocket money for the affected students to go home and see their parents for the provision of new items and return by Sunday , January 25 for normal classes to begin. Mr. Bedjabeng said the fire outbreak would not affect the intake of form one students who are expected to report on February 2. He said the affected students would be accommodated in other houses and tow vacant tutors bungalows. The headmaster said classes would resume tomorrow, January 22. The regional Minister and Mr. Ajene consoled the students and said efforts would be made to ensure that the dormitory is rehabilitated soon. They said an appeal would be made to sawmillers, Ghana education service, red cross society and the regional disaster management committee for assistance. Addressing the students, Miss Adow appealed to the students to accept whatever their parents could afford to enable them to return to school early. She advised the students against making illegal electrical connections in their dormitories and making experiments with electrical installations in the school. gri