FATIMA MUHAMMAD

SAUDI GAZETTE

 

JEDDAH — At least seven pupils were treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at a public school in Jeddah on Monday. School authorities evacuated all students as a precautionary measure.



No. 198 Elementary School for Girls serves around 600 students in Al-Waziriya district of south Jeddah.



The school’s principal, Omaima Hawsawi, said a voltage fluctuation in one of the two power cables caused the fire.



She said one of the injured students had to be transferred to hospital while the others were treated on the spot. According to informed sources, this was not the first time a fire broke out in the school.



Hawsawi said the school is well prepared to deal with recurring fires and its students have been trained in emergency evacuations. “In event of a fire, we evacuate our students to a nearby mosque,” she said.



Abdul Majid Al-Ghamdi, spokesman for the education directorate in Jeddah, said electricity was cut off in the third floor of the school until necessary maintenance work was carried out.



Abdulaal Al-Thubaiti of the Saudi Electricity Company said the cables that supply power to the school are “intact”, but the problem lies with a cable inside the school building, which is the responsibility of the education directorate.