Fire Ravages Bhaktapur School, Five Classrooms Destroyed in Suspected Electrical Blaze

A major fire broke out at Khwopring English Secondary School in Liwali, Bhaktapur Municipality, leaving five classrooms completely destroyed and two floors of the building damaged. School principal Binod Prajapati said the blaze caused an estimated 5 million rupees in property losses, while authorities suspect an electrical short circuit triggered the incident.

The fire reportedly spread quickly through the school structure, turning several classrooms unusable and forcing the campus to absorb significant structural damage. With classrooms gutted and parts of the building affected, the incident has raised fresh concerns about fire safety in educational institutions and the risks posed by aging electrical systems.

What happened

According to the school administration, the fire broke out suddenly and rapidly intensified before it could be controlled. Five classrooms were completely destroyed, while two floors suffered damage in the blaze.

Preliminary assessments place the property loss at around 5 million rupees. Officials are treating the cause as an electrical short circuit, although a fuller investigation is expected to confirm the exact trigger.

Why this matters

Schools are among the most vulnerable public buildings when it comes to fire incidents because they often contain dense wiring, classrooms packed with materials, and limited fire suppression equipment. In this case, the damage appears to have hit both the learning environment and the building itself, potentially disrupting classes and forcing repair work before normal operations can resume.

The incident also underscores a recurring pattern in fire cases across Bhaktapur, where electrical faults have repeatedly been cited as suspected causes in property-damaging blazes. For school administrators and local authorities, the fire is likely to renew attention on inspection standards, emergency preparedness, and maintenance of electrical infrastructure.

Impact on the school community

Beyond the physical damage, the fire will likely affect students, teachers, and staff who now face an uncertain academic schedule and the loss of essential classroom space. Rebuilding or restoring the damaged sections may take time, depending on the extent of structural impact discovered during assessment.

For now, the school is left dealing with both immediate recovery and the longer process of calculating losses, restoring classrooms, and ensuring the site is safe for use again.