Several girl students, who were said to have started the fire at the Bara'em Al-Watan Girls' School in Jeddah, could not solely be blamed for the blaze that left two lady teachers dead as well as several teachers and students injured. The girls - mere children who have not reached their adolescence - had confessed to have started the fire and run away when the blaze got out of control to save themselves. While there have been suggestions to punish the girls, there are also matters that need to be investigated. One of these is the responsibility of the school. The school has to answer several questions like what appears to be its lack of supervision of schoolchildren inside its premises. News reports said that the girls did not attend their seventh period and went to the basement of the school. It is now hindsight that the girls could not have played with fire that went out of control if there had been no newspapers and other flammable materials left in the basement negligently. Clearly, the blame does not stop with the girls but also at the school's doorsteps. Other aspects of the tragedy like the late arrival of the Civil Defense firefighting and rescue teams have to be looked into as well. Why did the Civil Defense firefighting and rescue personnel arrive late? Were they not informed immediately about the blaze that turned out to be fatal? Were they caught unprepared? It was pointed out that the late arrival of the firefighting and rescue teams resulted in the death of one teacher and injuries to other victims who jumped from the third floor to escape the raging fire. The Ministry of Education is right when it said that the responsibility should not only be borne by the girls who started the fire out of their innocence if not ignorance. It's the responsibility of everyone to teach children not to play with fire or engage in other activities that may pose danger to their lives and those of other people. This responsibility should start with the parents or children's guardians. School authorities, who are considered to be proxy parents when the children are in school, must also take this responsibility seriously. We often see children playing on busy streets. When the children meet an accident like being run over by a vehicle, parents will easily seek redress without even considering that the buck stops right with them. While everyone is entitled to seek justice for any harm we suffer from others, we should try to see to it that we do not throw caution to the winds. As a medical slogan puts it, prevention is better than cure. __
