Dubbo school fire: Six classrooms burned at Fitzroy Street school

Dubbo South Public School will be closed after a fire destroyed six classrooms and forced hundreds of staff and students to evacuate.

A fire has destroyed six classrooms and forced hundreds of young children to evacuate a primary school in regional NSW.

About 2:30pm Thursday emergency services crews were called to Dubbo South Public School after reports a fire had engulfed a classroom were received.

Emergency service crews on the scene of a fire at Dubbo South Public School on December 2, 2021. Picture: Chris Williams/RSN Live

NSW Ambulance Inspector Dean Alchin said shocked students and staff were found scattered across various evacuation points surrounding the school.

“On arrival it was quite a confronting scene, two classrooms alight with several hundred children evacuated from these classrooms and located at various evacuation points around the school.

“Nine firefighters were treated for heat related stress, one was conveyed to Dubbo Base Hospital. Fluid replacement was undertaken.”

Six classrooms were destroyed at Dubbo South Public School. Picture: Brooke Chandler

Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Anthony Hojel said firefighters from Dubbo, Delroy and Rural Fire Service brigades were on the scene within four minutes of receiving a report about the blaze.

“They quickly got to work with their hose lines and started to put the fire out,” he said.

“At this stage we think we’ve probably had six classrooms that have been totally destroyed and we have another classroom that is severely damaged by fire and smoke.

“The cause of the fire is actually under investigation at the moment. With a fire of this size it does take us a while before we’re actually able to do investigations.”

Inspector Hojel praised students and staff for their response to the blaze which took about two-and-a-half hours to contain.

“Thankfully all the teachers acted in the appropriate manner and evacuated all the students by the time that the fire services arrived,” he said.

“Because of the age of the building we’ve determined there may be a little bit of asbestos so we’ve got to do decontamination procedures for all the firefighters as they come off the fire ground to ensure they are kept safe.”

Teachers have been praised for their leadership and swift response to a fire which broke out at Dubbo South Public School. Picture: Ryan Young

Inspector Hojel said one firefighter who was taken to hospital was expected to make a full recovery.

“The firefighter is doing well, they’ve just been given a few fluids,” he said.

A NSW Department of Education spokesman said the school would be closed on Friday.

“Further information will be communicated to the school community over the coming days,” he said.

EARLIER

Startling footage shows at least four classrooms of a Dubbo school up in flames as local Fire and Rescue crews work to contain the blaze.

Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters arrived at the Fitzroy St school at 2.30pm following multiple emergency calls. When they arrived, they found smoke and flames billowing from the classrooms.

“We found there were four classrooms well alight,” said a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman.

Luckily, all students were accounted for without any reported injuries.

News of the fire shocked the Dubbo community. Picture: Fire and Rescue NSW

Six Fire and Rescue crew worked with numerous local teams from the Rural Fire Service to contain the blaze.

The spokesman confirmed the fire has been contained and is currently smouldering. Crews will keep an eye on the fire until it is extinguished.

The damage to the school has been extensive, with the spokesman describing the classrooms as “totally destroyed”.

“It sounds like it will be a bit of rebuilding work for the school,” he said.

“The main thing is the kids are all out safe.”

FRNSW Superintendent Scott Dodson said this is a timely reminder that calling triple-0 for a fire emergency can be the difference between life and death, or salvaging property.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

More to come.