A devastating fire broke out early Tuesday morning at the boys’ dormitory of Kadjebi-Asato SHS in the Oti Region, destroying an entire sleeping room and leaving several students collapsed from exhaustion and panic as they rushed to salvage their belongings.
What happened
it erupted at around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, engulfing one room in the dormitory block. By the time firefighters contained the blaze, the entire room—including its roofing structure and all students’ personal effects—had been destroyed.
Student reaction & human impact
- As the fire spread and students attempted to rescue items and evacuate, dozens reportedly collapsed — a combination of exhaustion, anxiety, and the chaos surrounding the blaze.
- School authorities and community members quickly intervened; the students who fainted have since been stabilised and attended to. Emergency response — Major setbacks
- The response from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) was hampered: the fire engine in the Kadjebi district station was reportedly out of service, forcing responders to rely on “limited alternative methods” to tackle the blaze—likely contributing to the extensive damage.
- This lack of functional fire-fighting equipment raises serious concerns about emergency preparedness in the district.
What’s next and what to watch
- School authorities, regional education officials, and possibly the Ministry of Education should be alerted to assess structural safety and
- it-prevention measures at Kadjebi-Asato SHS and other boarding schools in similar settings.
- There may be calls from parents, civil society, and student groups for improved dormitory safety standards, regular fire-safety audits, and functional fire-fighting equipment for remote districts.
The incident is likely to reignite conversation around infrastructure gaps in Ghana’s boarding-school system, especially in less urbanized regions.
Source: My News Ghana
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