21 November 2007

A school in High Wycombe had to be evacuated this morning when a fire started in one of its classrooms.

A member of staff raised the alarm at the John Hampden School, Marlow Hill, at 8.14am after discovering the fire in the metal, plastics and electrics workshop.

Three members of staff in the affected block and a number of pupils who had already arrived in other parts of the school complex were evacuated. Pupils arriving during the incident were taken directly to the fire assembly point on the tennis courts.

Two crews from High Wycombe and one from Beaconsfield attended the fire along with Station Manager John Bull.

Firefighters entered the building using six sets of breathing apparatus and put out the fire using a jet and a dry powder extinguisher. Three other adjoining workshops and one office were damaged by smoke.

John said: “The crews worked effectively to contain the fire and prevent it from escalating, with very little disruption to the school day”.

Pupils and school staff were allowed into unaffected areas of the building while crews remained to ventilate the area using two positive pressure ventilation fans.

The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.