Teachers, students panic as school catches fire in Melaka

MELAKA - Classes for about 130 pupils at a religious school in Ayer Molek here were disrupted after the school's female teachers' room caught fire on Tuesday morning.

Teacher Ghazali Jabar said the incident came to light at about 7am, when some pupils were just arriving at school while others were already in class.

He said the teachers instructed all pupils to gather on the field after noticing smoke coming from the back of the school.

"There was no explosion. I only saw smoke coming from the back of the school and when we checked, we found that the female teachers' room was filled with smoke.

"I did not dare to go near it and immediately called the Fire and Rescue Department because I was worried the fire would spread," he said when contacted.

He said the fire only involved one block housing the female teachers' room, but the electricity supply to the affected area had to be cut off for safety reasons.

He said the incident also affected the teaching and learning process (PdP) as the school was still waiting for inspections and electrical wiring work to ensure the other buildings could be used as usual.

He said the situation was also concerning as the pupils would be sitting for several examinations soon, including the year-end examinations scheduled for Oct 19 and 20.

Meanwhile, Melaka Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Public Relations Officer Assistant Fire Superintendent II Mohd Hafidzatullah Rashid said the department received a call about the incident at 7.21am before a fire engine from the Bukit Katil Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) arrived at the scene at 7.35am.

He said the fire involved a permanent school building measuring about 40 x 200 square feet, with about 15 per cent of the teachers' room and its equipment affected by the fire.

"Firefighting operations used a 200-foot hose line and the fire was completely extinguished at 8.01am.

"No casualties were reported and the operation ended completely at 8.37am," he said.

He said five firefighters were involved in the operation, while the cause of the fire and the amount of losses were still under investigation.