Fire closes school for 'immediate future'

People have been urged to stay away from a school as firefighters continue to deal with a large fire.

Emergency services have been tackling the fire at The Promise School - which teaches children with special educational needs in Okehampton, Devon - since 15:30 GMT on Sunday.

A message from principal Quentin Gunderson said the school would be closed for the "immediate future" as a result of the fire and it will provide further updates on the "provision for ongoing learning".

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service incident commander Martin Sleigh said the building was a "total loss". Devon & Cornwall Police said the cause is "not thought to be suspicious".

In a message on the school's website, Gunderson said: "Urgent notice - a serious fire has occurred on the school site, the cause of which is unknown.

"The emergency services are currently in attendance.

"Due to the extent of the damage, the school will need to be closed for the immediate future."

A spokesperson for the school said: "We are relieved that no pupils or staff were on site at the time and are very grateful to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service for their swift response."

They said it was "devastating news for our school community", the cause of the fire was not yet known and investigations were ongoing.

"The school called every family last night to ensure they knew what had happened and to let them know details for online learning for the immediate period will be shared shortly," they added.

"We are working closely with the local authority and the Department for Education to determine further contingency arrangements and will share updates with families, pupils and staff as soon as possible."

Councillor Denise Bickley, cabinet member for children's services at Devon County Council, said: "We recognise how unsettling it must feel to face this level of disruption so suddenly."

She said the trust was leading the response and Devon County Council was working with it to support the next steps and help ensure children could continue their education safely.

Bickley said plans were still being developed and more information would shared with parents as soon as details were confirmed.

According to the fire service's website, crews from 25 stations had attended the scene since it was first reported.

Sleigh said the incident had been scaled down with crews dampening down hot spots and fire flare ups.

He added people were being advised to avoid the area and the emergency services were trying to keep disruption to a minimum.

Sleigh said due to the design of the building, parts of the structure had collapsed in on itself and while it had been unsafe to put firefighters inside the site, crews were "making good progress".

"The school building is a total loss at this point," he said.

"Our fire investigators are on scene and they'll now be looking to see if they can ascertain what the cause of the fire is."

Police said Exeter Road between Fatherford Lane and the Texaco garage remained closed.

"There are no reports of any injuries, and no people are known to be missing or trapped," a police spokesperson added.

Reporting from the scene on Monday, the BBC's Hattie McCann said the whole of the school's roof had gone with a large chunk in the middle fallen away.

"The photos I've seen online have not done it justice," she said.

"Honestly, very rarely am I lost for words, but it really is just shocking and it's such a new building as well."

According to the Dartmoor Multi-academy Trust, the Promise School opened officially in September 2022, with students moved into the "custom-built site in the centre of Okehampton" from the start of the 2023/24 academic year.

The trust said the school provided specialist support for about 100 children aged four to 16.

Okehampton Town Council said its "heartfelt thoughts" were with the students, families and staff at the school.

"We recognise how distressing this incident will be for everyone connected to the school and we commend the swift response of the emergency services who worked tirelessly to bring the situation under control," the council said on Facebook.

Firefighters said they had received support from the local community including from pubs and takeaway restaurants who had provided crews with food overnight.

Simon Chudley, who runs the London Inn, gave the firefighters portions of chips from the pub on Sunday night before returning on Monday with bacon rolls.

He said the incident was very sad for the community to deal with.

Chudley added: "People were saying it was quite bright and well ablaze by the time firefighters got there.

"I don't think there was really much they could have done early on and it was well gone by the time they got there."

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