TOKYO - A female music teacher at a municipal elementary school in Tokyo’s Kita Ward has told officials she was drying private clothing in a music preparation room where a fire broke out last month, injuring 11 pupils and others.
The fire occurred on June 19 at Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School, when flames started in a music preparation room on the fourth floor. Eleven people, including children, suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious.
At a news conference on July 2, the school said the teacher, who is in her 40s, explained that on the morning of the fire she had washed private clothing in the home economics room and was drying it in the music preparation room, which later became the source of the blaze.
The teacher had been routinely washing and drying private clothing and other items at the school, while other staff members were unaware of the practice, according to the school.
An electric heater and a circulator fan found in the music preparation room were also private belongings of the teacher.
Masahiro Takakusagi, principal of Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School, said the conduct was "inappropriate from the standpoint of public service discipline and school management."
Kita Ward Mayor Kanako Yamada also announced that the ward plans to establish a verification panel around September, including outside experts, to examine the evacuation response and the management of school facilities. The ward aims to compile its findings by the end of the current fiscal year.
Source: TBS
