St Helens Park Public School community is rallying together after suspected deliberate fire destroys kindergarten classrooms

A school community has been dealt a further blow to an already difficult year, with four of it classrooms completely destroyed by fire, suspected of being deliberately lit. A GoFundMe page has been set up.  

Firefighters were called to St Helens Park Public school on Saturday night. Picture: Fire and Rescue NSw

Staff at St Helens Park Public School have been assessing the damage caused by a fire on Saturday night.

Staff at St Helens Park Public School have been assessing the damage caused by a fire on Saturday night.

Firefighters responded to a call at 9.40pm on Saturday for multiple rooms on fire, and managed to contain the blaze to four classrooms.

The classrooms all in one block will be out of action for some time, with smoke damage significantly impacting the roof, the school’s principal told parents on social media.

The school’s roof sustained significant damage. Picture - Fire and Rescue NSW

A demountable classroom will be onsite, as construction takes place in Term 4.

While additional counsellors and support staff were available to parents and students this week, principal Sue Sessions told families at the school.

The fire has shocked the school community, which has been dealing with the interruptions of COVID-19 restrictions this year.

Fundraising efforts have started to help the school get back on its feet.

Kathryn Miller, who has set up a GoFundMe page for the school, says “classrooms has been severely damaged and teaching resources destroyed.”

“The teachers would have paid for most of these resources with their own money and we would like to help them replace them as soon as we can. Let’s support these amazing teachers and kids.” she wrote.

Parents took to social media to support each other following the news of the fire.

While Misch Bryce took to social media to say “So sad for the kids. All of their hard work is now lost. As if 2020 hasn’t been hard enough on them already. But we’ve got this, we are a tough little community.”

Police are investigating the cause of the fire, and are currently reviewing CCTV footage at the school and in nearby streets.