Tokyo primary school blaze leaves eleven pupils and staff injured
An emergency call regarding smoke from a music room prompted the rescue of trapped children and staff at a Kita Ward school, with casualties remaining conscious.
- A fire at Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School in Tokyo injured a total of eleven people, including eight students and three staff members.
- The blaze originated in a storage cupboard adjacent to the music room on the fourth floor during a lesson with 24 pupils.
- Injuries sustained during the evacuation included fractured bones from falls and smoke inhalation, though all casualties were conscious when hospitalized.
- An official investigation is underway to determine the fire's cause, with a stove being considered as a possible source of ignition.
Eleven individuals, the majority of whom were children, sustained injuries following a blaze that broke out on Friday, June 19, at a primary school situated within a heavily populated district of Tokyo.
Emergency services received a distress call at approximately 11am, warning that "smoke was coming from the music room on the fourth floor" of Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School, located in Kita Ward.
Information provided by the Tokyo Fire Department and other authorities indicated that it took roughly three hours to successfully put out the flames.
The incident resulted in structural damage covering an estimated 200 square metres of the educational facility.
During the ordeal, fire crews had to extract three students and a member of staff who had become trapped.
As the evacuation from the music suite took place, two children sustained fractured bones from falling, whilst a further six pupils suffered from smoke inhalation, alongside other minor wounds.
Additionally, three teaching staff were hurt in the event.
Emergency responders transported all eleven casualties to a local hospital for medical care, where it was confirmed that every patient remained conscious.
An official probe into the origins of the inferno is currently underway, conducted jointly by the Metropolitan Police Department and the fire brigade.
Sources close to the investigation have suggested that a stove might have ignited, sparking the emergency.
Police reports detail that twenty-four fifth-year pupils were attending a lesson in the music room at the moment the fire commenced.
A male educator detected the scent of burning emanating from an adjacent instrument storage cupboard; upon opening its door, he was met with smoke and immediately initiated an evacuation of the youngsters.
Despite the fact that the building's fire alarms sounded as intended, neither the main music classroom nor the adjoining storage area had been fitted with a sprinkler system.
The educational institution, which accommodates roughly 340 enrolled pupils, is geographically positioned around 500 metres to the south of JR Oji Station.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
