North Parramatta Residents Action Group (NPRAG) has called on the State Government to provide emergency funding to repair the school, parts of which have been standing since the late 1800s.

“We are calling on minister for heritage Gabrielle Upton and minister for education Rob Stokes to provide emergency funding to have these state heritage listed buildings important to Parramatta’s past repaired and restored to remain present in our future city,” NPRAG president Suzette Meade said.

Firefighters were called to the two-storey heritage building on Macquarie St in Parramatta about 4.40am on Saturday.

About 300 people were evacuated from a nearby apartment building but there were no injuries, a spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW said.

About 75 firefighters and 19 trucks were deployed and it took 12 hours for the last lingering flame to be put out.

Students were moved into a temporary school on O’Connell Street at the start of the school year to allow for the building of the state’s first high-rise high school and multistorey primary school.

The $250 million development will be put on hold while police investigate the fire.

In a series of Facebook posts, NPRAG members called the fire “beneficial for developers”; implying the suspicious circumstances of the blaze were “an easy way” to not incorporate the heritage buildings in the new development.

“There have been a lot of fires in Parramatta where development is happening,” one user said.

“Very suspicious and someone is turning a blind eye.”

Ms Meade was equally sceptical.

“This makes that vertical school much easier without those pesky heritage buildings in the way,” she said.

A Department of Education spokesman said the damage to the building was extensive and it was too early to say if it would be demolished.

“The damage to the heritage building was extensive and is still being evaluated. Engineers are working to address the concerns surrounding the structural integrity of the heritage building.”

A spokeswoman for Mrs Upton said she was “ready to support” the education department.

“(We will) support the Department of Education and the Department of Planning by providing specialist advice on any potential damage to the site’s archaeology as a result of the recent fire,” she said.

“The site is not listed on the State Heritage register as having State significance however its local heritage values have been recorded by Department of Education and would be taken into consideration by the Department of Planning as the lead agency in this State Significant Development.”

The original plans for the development saw the main heritage buildings dating back to 1873 retained.

Construction of the new buildings were scheduled for completion in November, with the entire development set to open in February next year. But a spokesman for Mr Stokes confirmed the timeline would need to be adjusted.

“First priority is making sure it’s safe, making sure the air quality is safe and then the experts can find out what they need to know.”

A 100-YEAR HISTORY

Standing tall over Parramatta since the late 1800s the infants block of Parramatta Public School had welcomed students across more than a century, right up until it was emptied for development late last year.

Macquarie St in the city’s CBD was no stranger to schools, with the first educational spot built in 1873 at the Arthur Phillip site neighbouring the primary school.

Starting as the Parramatta South Superior School, the first young students walked through the doors in 1913, after an application to begin building the school was signed off in August 1873.

Archaeological digs were carried out in April this year, with major finds from the grounds convict barracks, military hospital and the original inhabitants of the site the Barramattugal clan of the Darug people. The biggest discovery was made with the cellar of old Edgeworth House, sending the Australian historical world into a spin.

Lead archaeologist Abi Cryerhall said it was one of the most exciting finds of recent times.

“Highly significant and rare, it’s an extremely valuable resource for Parramatta and Australia’s cultural heritage, as well as for future research,” she said.

The discovery of the cellar at the site added to the early convict barracks and Aboriginal artefacts found there last May.

Finds include extensive remains of the barracks in sandstone and brick, Aboriginal stone artefacts, medical, trade and personal artefacts. This includes buttons, pins, children’s toys, coins, and a bullet.

The school began with 136 students in the first years of its opening, with the state’s first coeducational classrooms, proving to be a tough ask for many in the early days.

One of the first students through the doors in 1913, Eunice Davies wrote in a 1963 look back at the school. “In this environment staff faced the task of inculcating a school spirit, and creating an attitude of study which would overcome the obstacles.

“Difficult conditions and adversity give a challenge which calls for more loyalty and co-operation than would softer conditions, where routine is already well ordered.”

THE BLAZE

It's not yet known what started the fire at Parramatta Public School, but police are treating it as suspicious.

The fire, which broke out on the ground floor of the infants building, started early Saturday morning, spreading throughout the two storey block.

Fire and Rescue NSW superintendent Norm Buckley said the intense blaze forced the fire fighters out of the building.

“When the first crews arrived at 4.41am they went straight into the building, the but fire really got a hold and it spread rapidly, which meant it was far too dangerous to stay.”

Supt Buckley said the teams focused their efforts on the outside, to keep the fire from spreading to the nearby apartment buildings.

“We evacuated out of precaution,” he said.

“The fire showed signs of spreading but we were able to bring it under fairly quickly.”

Around 300 people were kept from returning to the homes in the neighbouring apartment block, with the fire brought under control within the hour, allowing them to return.

Supt Buckley described the fire at its peak as “fierce”, with ceiling and roof damage adding another element of danger.

“Because of the roof collapse and the ceiling damage it took quite a while to put fire fighters back inside to extinguish those little pockets of fire,” he said.

“I couldn’t speak to the structural damage, but from what I saw, the ceiling and roof was badly damaged but the walls seemed to still be in tact.”

Eye witness Declan Trainor filmed the fire from his office window on Saturday morning where he saw up to 20 fire crews surround the block.

“It was pretty disappointing to see the building like this,” he said.

“I’ve been working in the area for seven or eight years and every day I walk past the school and see kids playing on the oval. It’s pretty crazy.”

Mr Trainor, who works on level 12 of the neighbouring building filmed the fire at 6am, describing the scene from his office.

“It’s just a burnt out building. The roof’s buckled and it looks like it’s going to collapse.”

It took 12 hours for the last lingering flame to be put out at the school, with the majority of damage found in the first level of the building.

Engineers and investigators are expected at the site this week to determine whether it will need to be demolished.