FAULTY wiring is being investigated as the cause of the fire that engulfed the As Sofa Islamic High School hostel in Rembau this morning, said the Fire and Rescue Department.

The department’s Negri Sembilan director Norazam Khamis said this was based on initial investigations, adding that the fire was not caused by any flammable items.

“We have witnesses who said they saw sparks from an electrical circuit. But it is still too early to tell as we have to conduct more checks,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

This incident came barely a month after a blaze killed 23 people at a religious school in Kuala Lumpur.

Today, six youths between the ages of 12 and 18, suspected to be behind the tragic fire, were charged with drug abuse and the murder of 23 people.

At the Seremban hostel fire yesterday, all 37 students, two female wardens and two security guards escaped unhurt, except for three students who received outpatient treatment at the Tampin hospital for smoke inhalation. They also have a history of asthma.

The fire at the hostel was detected at 1.50am by one of the wardens.

Norazam also said that 80% of the single-storey dormitory was destroyed, adding that the building was not registered with the Fire and Rescue Department.

As Sofa principal Nor Badrulzaman Nordin said all the students were sent back home with their parents.

“The students, between the ages of 13 and 17, are mostly from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor,” he said.

Badrulzaman also said As Sofa is not a tahfiz school as it it registered under the State Education Department.

“It’s a private school which also teaches about the Quran,” he said. – September 28, 2017.