Blaze closes school

Kristin Macfarlane | 21st July 2010

Rotorua Lakes High School is closed today as staff examine fire damage to the school's science block caused by a blaze overnight.

The Rotorua Fire service was called to the fire at 10.05pm yesterday by security firm Watchdog Security after the school alarms were activated. About 25 firefighters attended and the fire service remained at the scene until after midnight.

Senior Station Officer Cameron McEwen said when firefighters arrived "flames were issuing out of the doors".

The scene was to be placed under scene guard overnight so firefighters could properly investigate in daylight today.

Mr McEwen said the walls and the ceiling in the building had suffered fire damage.

Not only did the fire happen on the first day of term three, three of the five classrooms in the science block were being refurbished and were about a week away from completion.

Rotorua Lakes High School principal Bruce Walker said he was forced to close the school to its 600 students today because they had no water or heating and to let staff examine the damage. It would be known later today whether the school would be closed again tomorrow.

Mr Walker said the fire was "gut wrenching", especially because they had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating the physics, biology and chemistry classrooms in the science block.

He believed the fire was arson but firefighters said they couldn't confirm that until they had finished their scene examinations.

Mr Walker said young kids were seen running in the area before the fire.

He said the fire was upsetting because students wouldn't be able to use "specialist" science classrooms and equipment to prepare for their NCEA examinations in about 10 weeks.

Deputy principal Wayne Hall believed many students would be disappointed by the damage. "There'll be a lot of annoyed students I would say," Mr Hall said.

Rotorua Lakes High School head of science David Parry was "totally devastated" by the fire.

"It will effect our preparations for exams," he said.

He wouldn't know how much damage had been caused until today.

Caretaker Colin Clarke was first on the scene after hearing the alarms.

When he went to check on the school he saw "black smoke coming out of S Block," he said.

"I had to wait out the gate and direct the fire brigade to the fire," he said.

Fire safety investigators were to investigate the cause of the fire today.