DHAHRAN, 9 March 2004 — A major catastrophe was averted on Sunday morning when a fire broke out in a students’ hostel at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. The university’s security department and the Civil Defense acted quickly, oversaw the evacuation of the hostel and very soon brought the fire under control.
According to the university rector, Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, the cause of the fire was a short circuit. A student who occupied one of the 25 rooms gutted in the fire said that it began around 3 a.m. when most students were sleeping. The wooden walls of the hostel caused the fire to spread quickly.
A statement from the university said, “The presence of mind of the security staff and the rapid action prevented the fire from spreading and it was brought under control within minutes.”
The rector said that the students who had been living in the burned-out rooms would be provided with alternative accommodation.
