Cleaner Suffers 30 Percent Burns As Fire Damages An Eight-Room School Building

PADANG BESAR, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- An eight-room building at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Padang Melangit near here was about 90 per cent destroyed in a fire that occurred this morning, also causing a private cleaning worker to sustain 30 per cent burns.

Perlis Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Assistant Director of Operations, PgKB II Mohamad Azhar Yussof, said they received an emergency call regarding the incident at 11.05 am before arriving at the location about 13 minutes later.

"The fire involved a school building with eight rooms, including a store, an art room, a Design and Technology (RBT) room, and a health room. The fire is believed to have started in the store room before spreading to the adjacent rooms," he said when met by reporters at the scene.

Mohamad Azhar said the fire fighting operation involved personnel from the Padang Besar, Kangar, and Arau Fire Stations, as well as the Volunteer Fire Squad (PBS), with the fire successfully brought under full control in about an hour.

"The operation was a bit difficult initially because water sources were limited, and the nearby fire hydrant was not working, forcing the team to use water from a nearby pond before tanker assistance arrived," he said, adding that the cause of the incident and the extent of losses are still under investigation.

He said the cleaning worker, a 29-year-old man, sustained burns on his back thigh, but the victim is in stable condition and has been sent to the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital (HTF) in Kangar for further treatment.

Meanwhile, Perlis Education Director, Rose Aza Che Arifin, said all 192 students and 18 teachers of the school were safe and had been evacuated to the hall as soon as the fire was detected.

"This burned building was actually planned to be upgraded as the Integrated Special Education Programme (PPKI) block next year, but following this incident, we will reassess the need to provide more conducive facilities," he said.

Rose Aza said the school will operate as usual tomorrow as the classrooms were not affected by the fire. He also expressed appreciation to the fire department for acting quickly to extinguish the fire and ensuring the safety of the school community.

-- BERNAMA