Fire at Tokyo Elementary School Injures 11

Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press)–A fire on Friday at an elementary school in a densely populated area of Tokyo left 11 people, mainly children, injured. Around 11 a.m., there was an emergency call reporting that “smoke was coming from the music room on the fourth floor” of Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School in Kita Ward. The fire, extinguished in about three hours, damaged about 200 square meters of the school building, according to sources including the Tokyo Fire Department. Firefighters rescued three pupils and one teacher who could not escape. Two pupils and one female teacher suffered bone fractures, and six other pupils and two adults had smoke inhalation. A total of 11 people were taken to hospital. The Metropolitan Police Department and the fire department are investigating the cause of the fire. There were reports that a stove may have caught fire, investigative sources said. According to the police, a class was being held for 24 fifth graders in the music room when the fire began. After noticing a burning smell coming from a room for storing musical instruments, a male teacher opened the door, saw smoke and started evacuating the children. Although the fire alarm went off, no sprinkler was installed in the music or storage room. Located about 500 meters south of JR Oji Station, the school has some 340 students. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]