The Tolon Senior High School has been temporarily closed down after fire ravaged parts of the girls’ dormitory on Thursday, May 19.
According to the school’s management, the decision was reached after an emergency meeting to allow the students stay home for a week, while authorities make alternative arrangements.
Some of the students have also been given temporary abodes within the community.
A report by JoyNews’ correspondent, Martina Bugri, revealed the fire started at about 9 am on Thursday morning and destroyed the entire top floor of the girls’ dormitory which accommodated over 600 students.
A student, Dauda Zakiya who lost all her belongings could not hold back her tears. “I have lost everything, this bag is the only thing I have”, she said.
Zakiya said she had to support her parents to be able to buy the list of items on the prospectus before she came to school.
“It wasn’t easy for my father to buy me these things. They bought some and I also bought some, I was selling dates during the fasting season”, she added.
Headmaster of the School, Mohammed Issifu, says there are ongoing attempts to convert some classrooms and a compound house belonging to the Assembly into hostels when students resume.
“The Assembly has a compound house in town and with the school’s situation, we are trying to see if we can convert some of the classrooms into dormitories but we need time”, Mr. Issifu said.
Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Baba Hudu said the fire was so intense that they had to dispatch several other fire tenders to the school to be able to bring the fire under control.
He said the entire first floor of the building was damaged.
According to Mr. Hudu, they have advised authorities of the school to get experts to assess the block before they take a decision to reconstruct the building.
“The extent of damage was because of the distance, we all know that Tolon has not got a fire station even though the Assembly has built one, and is yet to be handed over to us. The speed ramps on the road, we could count up to 23,” he said.