By Alex Crowe
A young teenager has been arrested after a fire badly damaged a Geelong school just after midnight on Tuesday.
Victoria Police arrested a 13-year-old girl over the fire at Northern Bay P-12 College in Corio.
The teenager was in custody early on Tuesday morning and was being questioned by police.
The fire tore through an administration building and several classrooms, causing significant damage.
Police said the fire, which had 60-metre flames at its peak, was believed to have ignited about 12.15am.
Firefighters contained the blaze about 1.40am on Tuesday but remained at the school for several hours to monitor the site.
The fire-damaged school on Tuesday afternoon.Credit: Jason South
A Fire Rescue Victoria spokesperson said the incident was deemed suspicious and handed over to police.
Northern Bay P-12 College was forced to close its Hendy Street campus on Tuesday as a result of the fire.
School administrators said the fire caused significant damage to the main building, including the campus administration building and junior school classrooms.
In a message to the school community, administrators said the Education Department had closed the school for the day, on advice from emergency services.
“Sadly, initial investigation points to arson,” administrators said.
“We will provide more information when it becomes available, particularly regarding arrangements for the rest of the week.”
Firefighters were also called to an unrelated fire in Braybrook about 3.19am on Tuesday.
A car was reportedly driven into a gymnasium and set alight, badly damaging the two-storey building.
The fire was deemed suspicious and is under investigation by the police arson squad.
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