The Dakpema House boys’ dormitory of Northern School of Business (NOBISCO) was gutted Thursday morning.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known but eyewitness said it could be an electrical problem.
The assistant headmaster (Academics) of the school, Mohammed Halidu, who confirmed the incident to DAILY GUIDE, said the fire started at about 9:00 am.
He indicated that he was making his normal rounds on the campus when he heard some students screaming so he rushed to the scene only to realize that the dormitory was on fire.
According to him, he quickly rushed into the machine room to disconnect the main source of electricity supply to the dormitory and then started battling the blaze with water ‘till the situation was brought under control.
Mr Mohammed Halidu stated that the cause of the fire could not be determined at the time but noted that illegal connection in the various dormitories could not be ruled out, because “students always find ways out when they are told not to use gadgets like heaters and electric irons in the dormitories.”
“A number of times, we punish students, seize their gadgets and contract electricians to check illegal connections in the building but you know students… It is the Fire Service which can tell us what the cause is,” he said.
Northern Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Fire Service, Paul Aikens, told DAILY GUIDE that the fire had affected the dormitory severely before the fire personnel got there.
He indicated that about 17 student wooden beds with mattresses, books, chop boxes and some learning materials were consumed by the blaze.
According to the PRO, investigation had been instituted into the incident but he believed the incident was triggered by faulty electrical gadgets.
Some affected students who spoke to DAILY GUIDE indicated that the incident would affect their academic work because most of their learning materials and uniforms got burnt totally.
They appealed to NGOs, institutions and individuals to come to their aid.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale