A secondary school in Manchester remains closed to students after a major fire tore through a classroom on 4 January 2024.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) responded to the incident at the Dean Trust School in Ardwick at approximately 7.30pm, despatching eight fire appliances from Gorton, Moss Side, Salford, Philips Park, Blackley, Manchester Central, and Withington fire stations to attend the scene. GMFRS firefighters used "jets, breathing apparatus, and a thermal imaging camera to bring the fire under control".
According to Manchester Evening News, the fire was initially believed to have started on the first floor of the school building, resulting in the full evacuation of the building. Video footage captured of the incident also showed plumes of smoke issuing from one of the windows.
Later that evening, a spokesperson for GMFRS confirmed that the fire had been successfully extinguished, but there had been “substantial smoke damage to the classroom and surrounding areas”. Crews remained on scene the following morning, awaiting the fire investigation team.
Updating parents, Head of the school, Steven Worthington said in a statement: "Some of you may have heard reports of a fire in the school building. To confirm, there was a fire reported in the school building after hours and the school was evacuated. The fire was contained in one classroom and has been put out by the emergency services.
"The emergency services continue to remain onsite in order to deal with smoke ventilation. At this stage, without having further information, we are making the decision to close the school to all Year Groups tomorrow (Friday 5th January).”
As reported by BBC News, Chief Executive for Dean Trust Ardwick, Tarun Kapur added that the school would need to remain temporarily closed “due to the amount of work required to make the building safe."
As of 9 January, the school remains closed, with a letter to parents stating: “We are still unable to provide a confirmed date for the school's reopening. We understand the importance of having clarity in this matter and assure you that we are closely monitoring the situation.”
An investigation into the cause of the fire is currently ongoing. “The fire service’s inspection is ongoing, preventing access to the school building,” Mr Worthington added.
(Photograph by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service)