A late Thursday evening fire outbreak has razed a female hostel annex of Gombe State University (GSU), leaving students in panic and three rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The bungalow-shaped annex, located within the university premises, was engulfed in flames suspected to have been triggered by a cooking gas explosion.
Confirming the incident in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Friday, the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Fire Service, Gombe Command, Assistant Superintendent of Fire, Bashir Muazu, described the incident as “unfortunate.”
“It was caused by LPG, cooking gas. Based on preliminary investigation, it was caused by unattended cooking by a student,” Muazu explained.
According to him, while no fatalities were recorded, three students were taken to the hospital.
“Some went in for anxiety and the other for inhaling the smoke from the inferno,” Muazu added.
Our correspondent gathered that the university had only recently lifted a ban on the use of gas cylinders within hostels. For years, students were restricted to kerosene stoves due to safety concerns.
Some students who spoke to our reporter under condition of anonymity expressed disappointment over the handling of the incident, blaming inadequate fire service facilities on campus.
“The fire could have been put out quickly if the school’s fire service was functioning well,” one of the students lamented.
Efforts to get comments from the Public Relations Officer of Gombe State University, Hadu Naphtali, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls or messages at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the Federal Fire Service has issued an advisory on ban of LPG cylinders in GSU, State Controller, Federal Fire Service, Gombe State Command, DCF S.M Sulaiman advised the University management to ban the use of LPG cylinders in all student hostels with immediate effect.
“This decision is aimed at preventing future accidents and ensuring the safety of students.
“The Command is committed to working closely with the University Management to enhance fire safety measures and prevent such incidents in the future,” the advisory stated.
DCF Sulaiman urged all students, staff, and the general public to prioritise fire safety and report any hazardous situations to the relevant authorities.
