Blaze too close to home for this One Mile mum

'By the time they got it under control I could tell it was my son's classroom'

Brothers Khynan, Dylan, Arlen Reid (back) and Brandon Pickering (front centre) in One Mile State School uniform. Picture: Contributed

A CRACKING sound and the moaning of her pet dog were the alarms that raised Cassie Reid from her bed on Wednesday night and made her look across the road at One Mile State School.

She was greeted with an upsetting sight - the school where three of her four sons attend was on fire, prompting Ms Reid to call the fire brigade.

Mother of four Cassie Reid saw first hand the fire that ripped through her sons' primary school on Wednesday night. Picture: Contributed

A Phoenix St resident, the blaze was close enough to have Ms Reid (pictured) worried about her own property that she said would have also gone up, with dead palm fronds and untreated palm fronds.

"Large chunks of hot ash were falling and I was concerned it was going to go over to (the) council (building) or my garden would catch alight.”

She said after about an hour and a half of firefighters battling the blaze it began to subdue.

"By the time they got it under control I could tell it was my son's classroom,” Ms Reid said. "I was pretty upset.”

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She said losing her son Arlen's classroom (who is in year four) and six months of his school work was upsetting for her son.

The family are now left wondering whether they will be returning to school when term three begins on July 10 or if they do, what sort of amendments will be made.

But she said the destruction could have been so much worse.

"The firefighters were doing a great job keeping it contained to that one area.”

Yesterday afternoon as the building site was still smoking,the Gympie mother was worried about replacing stationery and school supplies.

"I really do hope they replace the things they've lost,” she said. "I'm a single mum of four and I can't afford to buy it all again.”