Fire scare at Tunbridge school

Sunday could have turned fatal for the teachers and staffers of Tunbridge High School, located on Cavalry Road, but for the timely intervention of the City’s fire brigade who successfully averted a major tragedy.

According to school authorities, a big pile of garbage, set afire by the BBMP’s staff, near the school’s side gate would have turned into a inferno as the school canteen, stocked with LPG cyclinders, was located close to the garbage fire.  

The school authorities were roiled by the fact that even after the Sunday incident, which took place at around 11.30 am that day, the workers continue to set the garbage ablaze unmindful of the imminent danger.

It is said that the workers were dumping the garbage collected from neighboring streets and burning them over the last two months and despite several complaints against them by school officials, no action was taken.

Tunbridge School Principal Maureen Ojha, who resides in the school quarters, chanced upon the fire in the nick of time and informed the Commercial Street Police Station, who, in turn, alerted the fire brigade.

According to Maureen the flames had leapt to a height of 15 ft and described it as fortuitous that it happened on Sunday when the school was shut.  A delay of even five minutes by the police would have reduced the whole school premises to ashes, he claimed.

School president Len Shephard said: “The school has 1,000 children on its rolls. Feigning ignorance, BBMP Solid Waste Management Chief Engineer H C Ananthaswamy, blamed the people for dumping garbage at the school premises and claimed BBMP never dumped garbage on the streets. Hence, blaming the BBMP was not right.

Area corporator M Gopi, who, along with other BBMP officials visited the spot on Monday noon, assured the school authorities there would not be a recurrence of the incident.
“The garbage lying near the school premises will be lifted at the earliest,” he said.