The Mahdia Dorm Fire Commission of Inquiry (COI) was told today that when the deadly fire engulfed the school dorm back in May, the Mahdia Fire Station was ill-equipped to deal with a fire of the magnitude.

In the witness box today, Officer in Charge of the Mahdia Fire Station, Ryan Scott maintained that even with more resources, the outcome might not have been any different.

The fire claimed the lives of 20 children. 19 of them died in the inferno and the other child died while in hospital.

“Based on the report that you prepared, based on the response that you led to the fire, based on the state of the Mahdia Fire Station, up to the state of the fire – the Mahdia Fire Station was not in the position to effectively respond to the fire on the night in question,” Counsel Keoma Griffith submitted to the Officer in Charge during his testimony.

In response, the Fire Officer said the Fire Service was effective in its response.

“But you didn’t have a sledge hammer? You didn’t have a disc cutter? You had a damaged hose? Hoses were damaged? No? We take that one back. You had three out of five officers, who was supposed to be on duty to respond to the fire? You had some auxiliary workers who didn’t receive the level of training required? You had no breathing apparatus? You had an old truck, a 12-year-old truck with all these deficiencies? And, you are still saying that Mahdia was in a position to effectively respond to the fire,” Griffith asked.

Scott, while acknowledging the deficiencies that existed within the system at the time, again maintained the Fire Service did its best in the circumstances.

Pressed for more answers by Commissioner Kim Kyte-Thomas, Scott explained that the Fire Service was alerted to the fire about 20 minutes after it was first noticed.

He said by the time Fire Fighters arrived at the scene, there was not much that could have been done to save the lives of the children who perished.

“Once the vehicle is driving, the engine has water, and pump is working, and we have fire fighters, once we get a call in-time, we will be able to carry out our function. On that said night, the fire was beyond our control; we get the call late. When we meet there, there was an indication that, that fire was burning for about 15 to 20 minutes…The results would have been the same because we get the call late,” he explained.

The Commission of Inquiry heard that with the help of public-spirited persons, the Fire Fighters were able to rescue a number of the children, and contain the blaze.  

Earlier in his testimony, the Fire Officer in Charge explained that there is no landline service in Mahdia, and as such persons would be required to call 912 in the capital city in case of a fire, and the information would be sent on to the Fire Station in the community.

Alternatively, persons would physically visit the station to alert the Fire Fighters or call a cellular number assigned to the local fire station.

However, the Fire Officer admitted that the mobile number for the Fire Station in the area is not well known among the residents.

The Commission of Inquiry also heard today that three months before the fire at the school dorm, an inspection was done by the fire service. (Svetlana Marshall)

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