KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) - The blaze at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah residential religious school in Jalan Keramat Ujung, Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday (Sept 14), will go down in the country's history as a fire-related incident with one of the highest death tolls.

Twenty-one students and two teachers who had also served as wardens perished in the fire which broke out at 5.15am.

According to Bernama's record, the Pondok Pak Ya fire on Sept 22, 1989, had claimed the largest number of victims. Twenty-seven students perished in the fire which destroyed eight of the hostels of Sekolah Agama Rakyat Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah Al-Halimiah in Yan, Kedah.

The following is a chronology of fire incidents involving religious and tahfiz schools nationwide since 2007:

2017

- Jan 13: A tahfiz student sustained injuries in a fire at the hostel of Pondok Nurul Iman in Kampung Tanjung Batu, Nenasi in Pekan, Pahang.

- Jan 16: The An-Nuur Islamic Education Centre, better known as Pondok an-Nuur in Pantai Sepat, Kuantan, Pahang, which housed 113 students, was razed in a fire. This was the second such incident since 2006, when a blaze razed the students' hostel.

- Feb 7 : A total of 73 female religious school students in Maran, Pahang, were left with just the clothes on their back when a fire destroyed their hostel.

- Feb 28: Pondok Al-Baghdadi in Tumpat, Kelantan, which accommodated 100 students aged between 15 and 30, was destroyed in a fire. No casualties were reported.

- April 17: Ten residential buildings of Pondok Seri Permai in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, were destroyed in a fire, leading to losses estimated at RM161,000.

- April 30: Thirty students of Mahaad Tahfiz Al-Quran Al-Ismailiyah Mukim Lalang, Banggol Chicha, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, saw their hostel reduced to ashes in a blaze.

- July 3: The store room of the Al-Islah residential religious school in Teluk Intan, Perak, which accommodated 68 students, was destroyed in a fire.

- July 4: The Addiniah Al-Latifiah residential religious school in Pengkalan Hulu, Perak, which had 66 students, was destroyed in a fire.

- July 30: Two hostel blocks of Maahad Tahfiz Al-Barakah in Sepang, Selangor, which housed 100 male students, were razed in a fire.

- Sept 14: A total of 22 students and two teachers were killed in a fire at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah in the federal capital. The incident was believed to be caused by a short-circuit.

2016

- Jan 18 : The two-storey building which housed 30 students of Al-Redzuan residential religious school in Kampung Dato Ahmad Razali, Dengkil, Selangor, was razed in a fire.

- March 7: A total of 60 students of Darul Itqan Al-Muhammadi residential religious school in Kampung Batu 40, Sabak Bernam, Selangor, lost their hostel to a fire.

- March 3: The hostel of Maahad Tahfiz at-Tijarah at Jalan Bukit Idaman 8, Bukit Idaman in Selayang, Selangor, was among the premises destroyed in a fire.

- May 11 : Madrasah Tahfiz Al-Quran Raudhatul Ulum, Bagan Selat, in Butterworth, Penang, was destroyed in a fire. No casualties were reported.

- June 18 : The hostel of Madrasah Diniah Bakriah Pondok Pasir Tumboh, which housed more than 50 students, was razed in a fire. No casualties were reported.According to the Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department, this was its second fire-related incident at the school. The first was in July 2016.

- Sept 22: Maahad Tahfiz Daril Naim in Pangkal Kala, Melor, Kota Bharu, in Kelantan, was razed in a fire.

2015

- May 6: The premises that housed the essential items of the students of Ribat Assyafie residential school in Taman Murni Perdana, Dungun, Terengganu, was destroyed in a fire.

- May 13: The hostel of Tahfiz Khairul Kalam in Jalan Kebun, Shah Alam, Selangor, which had 26 students was destroyed in a fire.

- July 29 : Three students of Raudhatut Tahfiz residential religious school in Km2, Jalan Gunung Jerai, in Guar Cempedak, Kedah, suffered burns when a fire broke out at their hostel.

- Aug 28: The hostel of Madrasah Tahfiz Al-Zahra in Kampung Ladang, Gelang Patah, in Johor Baharu, Johor, was razed in fire about 6am.

- Oct 21 : A fire destroyed 70 per cent of the Al Ummi religious school in Labuan; however, all of its students and teachers were safe.

2014

Feb 14: Seventeen students of Maahad Tahfiz Muhammadiah, Bukit Rangin, in Kuantan, were left without their two-storey school, no thanks to a blaze.

2013

- June 15: A student of Maahad Tahfiz Al-Barakah (Mantab), Kampung Masjid, Tikam Batu, near Sungai Petani, Kedah, was found burnt to death, and two others injured when a fire destroyed their hostel.

- July 4: A total of 81 students of the Kunak religious school in Sabah lost their belongings when their temporary hostel for male students was destroyed in a blaze.

2012

- Sept 9: The second floor of the Assyifa residential religious school in Kampung Kolam, Kuala Ibai, in Terengganu, which housed 25 students, was destroyed in a fire while the students performed Zohor prayers at a nearby surau.

- Jan 25: A hostel for male students at the Sekolah Menengah Agama Nadzah, Bukit Besar, in Yan, Kedah, was destroyed in a fire believed to have been caused by short-circuit. Fires had also broken out in 1996 and 2005 at the same school.

2011

- Jan 16: The top floor of the two-storey Maahad Qiraat Al-Azhar Amal Aimy Zdalifah at Km3, Jalan Sungai Korok, Sultan Abdul Halim Highway, in Alor Setar, Kedah, was destroyed in a fire.

2010

- Jan 22: Sekolah Pondok Lubuk Tapah, Kelantan's oldest religious and educational centre, was destroyed in a fire.

- July 25: An eight-year-old student of a private religious school in Hulu Langat, Selangor, was burnt to death in a fire.

2009

- Jan 1: A fire which broke out at Sekolah Madrasah Darul Hikmah in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, left damage estimated at about RM200,000. However, no casualties were reported.

2007

- Aug 7: Twelve students of Sekolah Menengah Agama Darul Makmur in Pekan, Pahang, were unable to sit for an examination after their school building was destroyed in a fire.

- Sept 22: A fire destroyed Sekolah Pondok Bandar Hilir in Teloi, Sik, Kedah, However, there were no casualties as the incident happened during a school holiday.

- Oct 22: A hostel block which housed 96 students of Sekolah Nurul Hidayah Al-Quran Maahad Tahfiz Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, was destroyed in a fire.