School classrooms burnt out by fire

A fire at an Auckland intermediate school overnight could have caused a lot more damage, say firefighters.

Two classrooms at the Pasadena Intermediate School on Moray Place in Point Chevalier are out of action, the school said today.

Fire Service shift manager Megan Ruru said the first firefighters to arrive at the scene about 1am transmitted a "K99" alarm which meant fire, well involved.

Firefighters from four appliances stopped it spreading from the detached classroom to nearby buildings.

School principal Tony Walsh inspected the damage with fire safety officers before an assembly where he told pupils what had happened.

The fire is the fourth at the school since 1985.

Mr Walsh said one was deliberate, one was mischief and one was an internal fire when rags caught alight. He could not say if the overnight fire was suspicious.

One of the classrooms had smoke and water damage and the other had door damage where firefighters had to get inside to fight the fire in the roof.

One of the damaged rooms was the bi-lingual classroom which had just been renovated.

"We will get the kaumatua in to have a chat to them (bi-lingual pupils) and we will relocate them into another room which they have been in while their room was being renovated."

He said the fire could have been a lot worse but it was important no one had been hurt. Staff and students had not lost any of their work.

He said the fire caused a loss of power to about half the school.

- NZPA