All Four Girls from Zahedan School Fire Have Died

The number of girls who lost their lives in the Zahedan school fire has reached four; all the girls who were reportedly trapped in the fire have died. On the morning of Tuesday, December 18, the overturning of an oil lamp in the classroom of the private girls' elementary and preschool 'Osveh Hasaneh' led to a fire. Current reports indicate that during the school recess, the strap of one student's bag got caught on the lamp, causing it to topple over, and four children remaining in the classroom were caught in the flames. News of the deaths of two of the girls was announced hours after the incident. The third girl also died shortly after, and finally, the fourth girl lost her life at 10:45 PM on Wednesday. According to hospital officials in Zahedan, all four girls suffered burns over 90 percent of their bodies. The Zahedan school fire has once again drawn attention to the security situation of schools, the educational environment, the use of oil lamps, and the facilities available in schools to prevent or deal with accidents. The burial ceremony for the girls was held in Zahedan. The Iranian Minister of Education ordered an investigation into the incident. Mojtaba Zeynivand, the Deputy Minister of Education, told the Fars news agency that this school 'moved to a new space about a month ago, but had not yet received approval for renovation and structural integrity, and had only corresponded to obtain a permit.' Prior to these statements, the Iranian state news agency, IRNA, described the condition of the burned classroom as follows: 'The first-grade classroom of this elementary school consists of a 3x4 meter room, which also housed the school principal's office, and they were only separated by a thin wooden panel.' This news agency reported that regarding the hallway leading to this classroom, 'when one of the officers attempted to enter the room, he could not pass through.' Finally, regarding the school's heating equipment: 'In this room, an unstandardized oil lamp (known as Atra) was used to warm the students.' From images released from the school after the incident, the Minister of Education announced yesterday that with the current budget, it would take seven to eight years to eliminate heaters from schools. These statements come at a time when oil lamps have been one of the factors in several fatal accidents in Iranian schools, and the 'Osveh Hasaneh' elementary school in Zahedan is neither the first nor the only case. In 2012, a fire caused by an oil heater in the Shinaabad elementary school left two dead and 27 injured. In the village of Safila in 2004, a similar fire claimed the life of a teacher. In 2006, eight students were injured in a fire at Shahid Rahimi school in Fars, or a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in a high school in Chabahar in 2011 that claimed the lives of four students. In addition to these, other incidents have also taken the lives of Iranian students, including accidents involving 'Raheeyan Noor' buses. However, considering the number of students caught in the fire at the 'Osveh Hasaneh' school and the number of fatalities, this incident is considered one of the deadliest accidents in recent years. Mohammad Khorram, the special representative of the Minister of Education to investigate the Zahedan school incident, said on Wednesday, 'Our problem in Zahedan is that most buildings use oil heaters.' He added, 'In fact, we either need to provide gas or use electric heaters.' Iran has over 30 trillion cubic meters of gas, which means 18 percent of the world's total gas reserves.