Bekwai SDA SHS Dormitory Razed Down

The burnt dormitory

STUDENTS OF Bekwai SDA Senior High School (SHS) in the Ashanti Region are in grief, with the hope of writing their mock examination next week seemingly dashed as one of the dormitories has been gutted by fire.

The inferno, which began around 8:45 pm on Wednesday, destroyed various items, including text and note books, cash, clothing, trunks, mattresses and other electrical gadgets belonging to the students and worth several thousands of Ghana cedis.

Even though no casualty or injury was recorded in the tragic incident, the entire dormitory that has been christened “Ameyaw Boys,” was consumed by the fire, George Oduro Yeboah, headmaster of the school, disclosed.

According to him, all the occupants had joined their colleagues in the classroom to study at the time the fire broke out.

Burnt books

Burnt books

Burnt metal beds of the students inside the dormitory

Burnt metal beds of the students inside the dormitory

Burnt trunks of the students recovered after the fire was dowsed

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Burnt trunks of the students recovered after the fire was dowsed

Some of the victims were stranded, hanging around the facility, while others were counting their losses yesterday during a visit by DAILY GUIDE.

According to some of the affected students, the mishap had saddened them as they least expected that they would lose their personal belongings, especially books and foodstuffs, a few days to start a mock examination.

Emmanuel, one of the victims, told this paper that many of the students were not around when the tragedy happened, and therefore could not salvage anything from the inferno.

“I have lost everything I left behind – books, clothing, school uniforms, shoes and other personal effects,” he disclosed.

According to him, strong winds fanned the flames, aiding the fire to spread quickly and causing the roof of the building to collapse.

Mr. Oduro Yeboah said that it had become difficult for the school to cope with the situation, but management had devised a way to shelter the affected students and lessen their troubles.

He disclosed that the school authorities, as part of temporary measures, had decided to give each of the 52 affected students a mattress, two notebooks, four exercise books and other things in order not to destruct the academic calendar, and also serve as a form of relief.

Mr. Yeboah appealed for support from philanthropists and old students of the Bekwai SDA SHS to put up a new dormitory for the victims and restore the situation to normalcy.

Fire officials said investigation was underway to establish the cause of the incident.

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Bekwai