40 kids evacuated after fire at school

MORE than 40 primary children had to be evacuated from a school in Shetland this morning (Monday) after a fire broke out in the roof above the gym hall.

The children and nine staff left Hamnavoe school shortly after 9am while fire officers from Lerwick, Scalloway and Sandwick raced to the scene.

The pupils were all taken to the local community hall while their parents were informed and came to collect them.

A spokesman for Shetland Islands Council’s schools service said that the 41 children would be bussed to Whiteness primary school tomorrow, where they would be educated for the foreseeable future.

No cause of the fire has yet been given, but local people were saying that it appeared to have been started by an electrical fault in the roof above the gym hall.

SIC education improvement officer Jerry Edwards said he had not heard of anyone seeing flames, but there had been large amounts of smoke coming out of the building.

The fire brigade reported the fire had been extinguished shortly after midday and investigators have gone in to have a look.

Head teacher Tina Johnston said the evacuation had gone very smoothly. “Everyone worked together and was very calm. There was no hysteria. It was a good operation.”