Blaze at another tahfiz school, three hurt

Another tahfiz school has caught fire early this morning, according to a report by the New Straits Times.

According to the report, the Yayasan Sofa Astana tahfiz school at Raja Chengkau, Seremban and the Fire and Rescue Department received a distress call at 1.50am.

They arrived at the scene at 2.05am and have fully extinguished the flames. All 37 residents at the schools' hostel managed to escape, but three students required treatment for smoke inhalation.

The report quoted Rembau Fire and Rescue Services Department senior assistant officer Mohd Fuad saying that the fire had destroyed over 60 percent of the all-girls two-storey hostel.

The incident comes just a fortnight after the Datul Quran Ittifaqiyah Religious School fire in Kuala Lumpur that killed 21 students and two wardens who were trapped in the blaze.

The cause of that fire was said to be arson, and two suspects are expected to the charged with murder today.

Another four suspects arrested in relation to the case would be charged under Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

The tragedy at the Datul Quran Ittifaqiyah Religious School had provoked public discourse over the fire safety standards at tahfiz schools.

The Star reported in August that there had been 211 fires reported at tahfiz schools between 2015 and 2017, citing figures provided by the Fire and Rescue Department.

“Studies revealed that many fires that occurred at religious schools were due to a lack of awareness of fire safety and construction done without approval from the relevant authorities, including the Fire and Rescue Department,” the report said.

The government has told the department to inspect the fire safety standards of tahfiz schools nationwide following the fatal blaze.- Mkini