UAE

579 pupils evacuated as fire damages Sharjah school

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Fire believed to have started in teachers’ room of Sharjah Model School for Boys

Sharjah: Pupils were evacuated from Sharjah Model School for Boys on Tuesday morning when a fire started inside the facility, firefighting officials said.

By last count, 579 pupils were safely ushered to safety by schoolteachers and support staff following a report of a fire inside, Sharjah Civil Defence said.

Students have been asked not to return to school until Sunday after proper inspection and maintenance efforts ensure the school infrastructure is safe, said officials.

The new few days will also give the school time to effect proper repairs to damage caused by the fire, said school administrators.

Brigadier Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Sharjah Civil Defence, told Gulf News that a team of firefighters was immediately dispatched to the school when fire alarms sounded.

Firefighters had the fire under control soon after they arrived and soon learnt that the fire broke out around 9.40am in the teachers’ lounge in the school.

Brigadier Al Suwaidi said officials did a good job evacuating the school to prevent injury, given that the fire spread panic among some of the pupils.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but investigators suspect an electrical short circuit could have started the fire.

Brigadier Al Suwaidi called on all schools to carry out maintenance works periodically to the electrical system in their premises.

Meanwhile, Sharjah fire, police and prosecution officials continue to investigate the death of three men whose bodies were pulled out from a burnt-out bakery on Monday morning after a fire swept through Sharjah Industrial Area No 10.

Fire officials said the workers may have been using a portion of the bakery as a sleeping and living area at the time of their death.

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