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Fire at St Athan school

Wednesday, 12 February 2025 at 15:40

By Gareth Joy and Nathan Spackman

Pupils and staff have been evacuated following a fire at St Athan Primary School.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called out to the school on Rock Road at approximately 11.48am on Wednesday morning.

Around 240 pupils, teachers and contractors were safely evacuated and there are no reports of any injuries.

The school's chair of governors, John Thomas, told Bro Radio News that one wing of the school had suffered "extensive damage".

Vale Council has confirmed the school will remain closed for the rest of the week while damage is assessed.

The fire was contained to a small block of classrooms and an IT suite, but crews remained at the scene to prevent it from spreading.

Five engines and two water bowsers were used to bring the fire under control, along with several specialist officers.

Footage released showed one of the classrooms badly gutted by the fire.

A spokesperson for the Fire Service said: "We are working with on site contractors and local authority education staff to establish the cause of the fire."

"We’d like to thank the school and the local community for their cooperation throughout, and a huge well done to our incredible crews whose tireless efforts brought the incident to a safe conclusion."

John Thomas, chair of the school's governors, told Bro Radio News: "There is extensive damage to one wing of the school which has yet to be assessed."

"The school will be closed this week and we're hoping to get it assessed as soon as possible, so we can let parents know what the situation will be going forward."

He added: "I'd just like to thank everybody who was involved today for the way that they handled the situation."

"Obviously, some of the parents were quite concerned in the beginning because they didn't know what the situation was."

"The headteacher, on numerous occasions, went to the school gates to speak to the parents to reassure them that the children were all safe. And then, most of the children were picked up by their parents."

"The ones which weren't able to be taken home immediately were taken to the village library, which was very kindly open for us by Cllr Derek Wilmot and so, they were in a safe, warm environment where they were able to be fed and wait until the parents were able to pick them up."

Rob Thomas, chief executive of Vale Council, has also praised school staff and fire crews for their response.

He said: "The only thing that mattered was that no-one was hurt."

“Thankfully, the professionalism of staff, who quickly followed emergency protocols, along with the swift attendance of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, ensured this was the case."

“I’d like to recognise those individuals for that response, which meant a serious situation did not become tragic. Thank you for your actions, I know I speak for the entire community when I say we are extremely grateful.”

A Vale Council spokesperson said school and council staff would be working alongside the fire service to assess the damage.

They added a further announcement about ongoing teaching arrangements will be made as soon as possible.

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