KUALA LUMPUR: Students of Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school here had a quarrel with a group of teenagers over a futsal court earlier this year.
Teacher Muhammad Azhari Mahmod, 40, said they quarrelled over the use of the court about 100m away from the school.
"I was informed of the incident but our students let the other group use the court. They then played at the nearby field.
"No untoward incidents happened during their quarrel as they were monitored by their wardens," he said
On Thursday, the tahfiz school caught fire which killed 21 students and two teachers at about 5am in Kampung Datuk Keramat.
Azhari said the school management considered that the issue on their quarrel had ended but claimed that a firecracker was thrown into the school compound during the last fasting month.
He said teachers, wardens and students were preparing for Isyak prayer when the incident occured.
"We thought that it was our students (who threw the firecracker) but they said that it was thrown from outside the school," he said.
Azhari said he was informed of the deadly fire when he was performing the haj in Mecca.
His wife Che Nur Hayati Ahmad, 30, was at the premises with their four children including a 9-month old baby.
He said his wife was praying when she heard the students screaming for help.
"My wife took shelter in the toilet at Level 3 before firemen rescued her. Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), my family is safe," he said.
He said his wife, who is two months’ pregnant, had been traumatised by the tragedy.