In Uganda, most fire deaths are the result of smoke inhalation rather than burns.
On Thursday night, 45 people – all students of at St. Peter’s Senior Secondary School in Nsambya, Kampala were saved from a fire. It is almost a miracle they survived after suffering smoke inhalation and falling unconscious before they could escape on their own.
The Kampala Fire Department responded to a call about people trapped in a burning school dormitory about 7 p.m. Firefighters were dispatched and arrived at the scene. They saw that most the flames and smoke were coming from the senior one dormitory, so they moved into that area first and found several victims.
Three victims, Ezra Tendo, a senior six candidate of Arts class, Raymond Ssekade who is in Senior five and Allan Nsubuga were unconscious and and are receiving treatment at Nsambya Hospital were several others had been admitted. By Friday morning, Dr Stanley Kiwanuka, the in charge of emergency Unit said that most of the injured students but six were out of danger and had been discharged.
Eyewitness accounts say, the fire resulted from an electric short circuit that set the building ablaze whereas other sources say the exact cause of the fire is still unknown.
Meanwhile hundreds of parents are stranded outside the school gate anxiously waiting to check on their children. The St Peter Nsambya’s administrators have insisted the parents keep calm until they can be let into the school premises.
Facts about smoke inhalation
In Uganda, most fire deaths are the result of smoke inhalation rather than burns.
Symptoms of smoke inhalation range from coughing and vomiting to nausea, sleepiness and confusion. If you notice a fire victim has difficulty breathing, singed nostril hair, and burns to their nose, mouth or face, seek immediate medical attention for them. A fully-developed indoor fire can reach or exceed temperatures of 1100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Even one breath of this very hot air can be lethal. Inhaling superheated gases can burn your respiratory tract whether or not the gases present are toxic. Those who suffer burns are at even greater risk as burn victims often have injuries to their lungs from inhaling hot smoke. Over 50 percent of people with severe burns and smoke inhalation die.
