By: Emmanuel Mbowa

Kambia District, 24th November 2025- The Kambia Secondary School (KISS) was significantly hit this morning by a fire that burned down six staff rooms and three classrooms. Two old boys were responding to treatment after being suffocated while attempting to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher.

“According to my teacher, who was at the school premises, the fire started in my office at 8 a.m.,” Ahmed Sidik, Principal of KISS, told Truth Media.

“We don’t have electricity in the school,” he explained. “We used to have solar-powered electricity, but it was struck by thunder a month ago.”

Sidik further stated that two of their old boys were rushed to the Kambia Government Hospital and have since been discharged. However, all the stationery, including computers and furniture, in his office at the administrative building, which housed six staff rooms and three classrooms, was destroyed.

“My office and the staff rooms were loaded with stationery and school colours. Everything is gone,” he lamented.

He added that there are no firefighters in Kambia, and the incident will significantly affect teaching and learning at the school.

“We don’t have firefighters here yet, and the one we have hasn’t started operations as there is no equipment deployed,” Sidik said. He noted, however, that the police, military, and community members responded and assisted in putting out the fire. “The smoke is still in my office.”

Nazir Kamanda Bongay is the Chief Fire Officer of the National Fire Force (NFF), he confirmed to Truth Media that indeed Kambia like mamy other areas in the country has no fire stations, the staff there he says only carry out fire prevention education.

The principal of the school has called for urgent support from the government and well-meaning organisations to help the school recover from the tragedy.

“The school, teachers, students, and we the staff are in grief and shock. We need the government’s and philanthropists’ support at this sad time,” he appealed.

KISS hosts 1,754 students – 871 in JSS and 883 in SSS. The three classrooms affected previously accommodated over 400 students, including Commercial 1 and 2, and Science 1.

The administrative building, Sidik noted, was constructed in 2006 under the Sababu Project and has been instrumental to the school’s operations.