Two boys, 11 and 14, arrested after fire destroys Ormiston College canteen

UPDATE: A 14-year-old has been charged with arson after a fire gutted the canteen of a prestigious bayside college this month. An 11-year-old has also been dealt with in relation to the fire.

A canteen area for students and staff at Ormiston College, where a fire this month gutted a kitchen at the college’s Centre for Learning and Innovation. Picture: Courtesy of Ormiston College

Two children have been arrested in relation to a fire that gutted a canteen and cafe at a prestigious bayside college earlier this month.

A 14-year-old boy from Bridgeman Downs was charged with arson and entering premises to commit an indictable act in relation to the fire at Ormiston College which destroyed a school kitchen and cafe.

He was granted bail and was due to appear in Cleveland Magistrates Court later this month.

An 11-year-old boy from Alexandra Hills was dealt with under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Police said they received CCTV footage showing two people inside the kitchen area at the college when the fire broke out.

The multimillion-dollar learning centre at the top private school was declared a crime scene after it was badly damaged in the two-hour fire, which started the day before school returned for Term 3 on Sunday, July 7.

Ormiston College Headmaster Brett Webster said most of the damage was to the kitchen and cafe area in the college’s new, multi million-dollar Centre of Learning and Innovation which would remain sealed off and not be accessible.

Ormiston College Headmaster Brett Webster said assessors had been onsite to make recommendations on repairs. Picture: The Courier-Mail

He said alternative arrangements were in place for the canteen along with library services, interactive learning and the technology hub — usually located in the building.

Investigators and assessors were on site all last week in order to establish the full extent of damage and make recommendations on repairs.

“I have nothing but praise for the way our community has responded in support of their school and the way that students have demonstrated their ability to adapt to new procedures at short notice,” Mr Webster said.

“Our staff team has also been remarkable, relocating some major services within extraordinarily tight time frames, ensuring that life on campus at Ormiston College was, as much as possible, business as usual.”

Five fire crews found “a wall of fire” stretching 50m by 30m when they arrived at the scene just after 5pm on the Sunday.

“The fire was under control and hadn’t extended to any nearby buildings,” a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said.

“There was a lot of smoke and the fire was out by 6.40pm.”