Fire at Girls' Technical School in Zanjan; 13 Injured Taken to Hospital

A fire at the 'Bahonar' girls' technical school in Zanjan left 13 injured on Tuesday, February 19. According to the government news agency ILNA, Ebrahim Khosroshahi, head of the pre-hospital emergency and disaster management at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, announced that of the 13 injured, 10 were transferred to 'Ayatollah Mousavi' Hospital and one to 'Valiasr' Hospital in Zanjan. Two students refused to be taken to medical facilities. This incident, which was contained with the timely presence of rescue forces, did not result in any fatalities. Khosroshahi explained that the injuries of these students were due to inhaling gases from the fire and high stress, and their condition is not critical. According to this emergency head, the rescue operation involved four ambulances, one ambulance bus, and two operational vehicles. While it is suspected that the incident may have occurred due to electrical fluctuations in the computer room, officials stated that the exact cause of the fire is under investigation. Previously, in a similar incident, the head of the emergency services in West Azerbaijan Province reported on Friday, February 17, that dozens of female students at a secondary school in Shahin Dezh suffered from gas poisoning. Farzin Rezazadeh told ISNA news agency that the gas poisoning of the students led to the transfer of over 50 students to Shahin Dezh Hospital. In this context, according to Tasnim news agency, Ali Motahari, the director general of education in West Azerbaijan, stated: 'Following the poisoning of the first-grade secondary school students at Parvin Etesami School in Shahin Dezh, all of them were immediately transferred to a medical center.' The unsafe condition of schools in Iran is one of the issues present in cities. In this regard, in Esfand 1402, media reported a fire in one of the classrooms of a girls' school in Urmia, resulting in 18 students being injured. Additionally, in Mehr of this year, the governor of Samalqan County in North Khorasan stated that 31 students at a school in this county were hospitalized due to inhaling toxic gas 'mercaptan.' In Iran, besides schools, many buildings do not meet the necessary standards, especially in terms of safety related to incidents leading to fires, and as a result, the number of incidents in buildings is significant. The issue of unsafe buildings gained attention after the Plasco incident, and after the announcement of a list of unsafe buildings, names of dormitories, government offices and institutions, famous shopping centers in the market, and hospitals were also seen among these buildings.