The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) that investigated the devastating fire at the Mahdia Secondary School female dormitory which claimed the lives of 20 children, handed over the report on its findings to President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Friday afternoon.
During a ceremony held at the Office of the President, in Georgetown, the Chairman of the Commission, Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh highlighted some key findings.
After going through the testimonies of 29 witnesses (14 written statements), Major Singh said the Commission came to the conclusion of arson. He said, “Based on the evidence, we concluded that an individual intentionally set the fire.”
A 15-year-old girl is currently facing 20 murder charges in connection with the fire.
The Chairman noted that while they found several inadequacies that affected the dormitory for the purposes of fire prevention, the Commission found that a better equipped facility would not have delivered a different result having regard to the cause of the fire, and the speed with which the fire engulfed the dormitory.
Another set of findings was that there was a delay in contact to the Mahdia Fire Station, there were issues encountered by the firefighters en route to the dormitory, inadequacies of the fire and rescue team equipment and the lack of available water supply.
Major Singh said too that despite the fact that there were five un-grilled doors providing entry and exit to the building, this failed to impact the outcome of what unfolded that evening due to the magnitude and speed of the blaze.
“This was accompanied with the human failure to access the keys in those chaotic and fiery circumstances,” the Chairman said.
Notwithstanding the act of arson, Major Singh pointed out that the vulnerability of young teenage students who are influenced and groomed by adults in the mining community, is also a contributing factor. He added, “With the tacit support of family members who benefit financially from such arrangements.”
Major Singh also underscored that even in the absence of the issues he referred to, very little could have been done to prevent a different outcome; due to the late stage at which the fire service was contacted and dispatched. Notably, he added that despite the many hurdles the firefighters managed to save 14 children who were trapped.
“In our report we recommended measures on actions that should be considered in addressing these root causes…it is our hope that the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry will be an instrument the changes necessary in ensuring that there will be no recurrence of such a tragedy,” the Chairman said.
The Commission also recommended a suitable memorial site at the dormitory for the children who lost their lives in the inferno.
In August 2023, President Ali appointed Major Singh as the Chairman of the Commission, with Attorney-at-Law Joycelin Kim Kyte-Thomas and Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Derrick John as the other members. Javed Shaddick was sworn in as the Secretary of the COI.
The Commissioners commenced their work on September 15 and concluded on November 10, 2023. During that period they did two site visits to Mahdia to gather evidence.
For his part, President Ali said, “I want to assure the Commission, your recommendations, your output here is critically integrated already but wherever there is still room for further integration of your recommendation…”
“There is also the obvious recognition of where we could have done better where the systemic issues that needs to be addressed…” the head-of-state said. He noted too that the memorial is in the design stage.
President Ali stated that there needs to be molding and counseling of the younger generation.
