Property worth millions destroyed in Hillside school fire

Iganga, Uganda: Property worth millions of shillings was left destroyed to ashes on Thursday afternoon after a fire gutted the boys’ dormitory at Hillside Ways Nursery and Primary School in Nampirika B village, Nakalama Sub-County.

The fire broke out around midday while school administrators were preparing for the reopening of the third term.

The school headteacher, Mr. Mulavu Samuel, told DailyExpress that the dormitory was unoccupied at the time, raising suspicion of a possible short circuit.

“It’s very unfortunate that we have faced this tragedy. Upon learning about the fire, we alerted the fire brigade team, but we had to first apply our extinguishers, though they didn’t work as expected. We want to thank the community members who supported us in extinguishing the fire,” Mulavu said, confirming that no lives were lost.

The blaze consumed the dormitory ceiling but was prevented from spreading to other rooms after firefighters intervened. Mulavu praised the security and UEDCL teams for their swift coordination in ensuring the fire was fully contained.

Nampirika B LC1 Chairperson, Mr. Mukoti Siraji, said the tragedy was not only a setback to the school proprietors but also to the community. “When these incidents happen, the community is also affected because our children learn from here. We thank the first responders and fire brigade for putting out the fire despite the losses made,” he said.

The incident adds to a wave of fires in Iganga district in recent days, exposing gaps in firefighting capacity. The region is left with only one fire engine, which is often unreliable, following the loss of a standard engine in a road accident earlier this year.

Earlier this week, furniture dealers in Bugumba, Kikongola, and Nkono also lost property worth millions in three separate fire outbreaks. The fire brigade struggled to respond effectively due to limited resources, as the incidents happened almost simultaneously during the night.