Over 1,000 students rescued amid Haripur school inferno

HARIPUR: All students and teachers were rescued after a fire broke out in a school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Haripur district on Monday.
The fire broke out in short notice as more than 1,000 students were attending classes at the Government Girls High School in Sirikot, 23 km from the district headquarters.
Rescuers and local residents were unable to contain the fire, which raged due to the materials in the structure, especially the wooden furniture in the classrooms, while firefighters were evacuated from nearby towns.
However, the local department managed to evacuate students and staff before the fire engulfed the entire building before the arrival of various departments.
Rescuers later reported that no one in the school was injured in the horrific incident.
However, the school building is not crowded, thus eliminating the possibility of fire spreading to other buildings.
The incident took place amid a heat wave that has gripped Pakistan for over a week and is expected to continue for another two days.
It should be noted that summer vacation in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa usually starts from June 1 to August 15. However, changing weather conditions and rising temperatures mean there is an urgent need to change the schedule, as in May. now associated with heat waves, pushing the mercury above 45 degrees Celsius, even to places previously unthinkable, or at least considered anomalous.
Unstable electricity distribution systems, as well as faulty wiring in residential, commercial and public facilities, mean they cannot withstand the extreme heat that has become the norm due to climate change, leading to an increase in short-circuit incidents.
In a separate incident, two children died and four others were burnt after a house fire broke out at Androon Imamiya Gate near Dera Ismail Khan.