Exams will go ahead despite overnight fire at Roosevelt school

A school hall at Roosevelt Park High School in Johannesburg caught fire on Thursday evening, but all files and documents pertaining to the exams were unharmed, the school said on Friday.

In a Facebook post, the school said a staff member who was checking whether the administration building was securely locked, smelled smoke and noticed that there was a fire at the school hall.

At that stage, the roof of the foyer part of the hall was on fire.

The fire brigade was called while the security company employed by the school used fire extinguishers to try to extinguish the fire.

The fire brigade arrived at 9.06pm and the fire had been extinguished by 10pm.

The school said it had put contingency plans in place to ensure the smooth running of further examinations, especially the Grade 12 examinations.

"All the files and documentation pertaining to the exams are safe and stored in a separate venue," the school principal said.

Ex-pupil ‎Jennifer Maritz‎ of the Institution of Fire Engineers of SA shared on Facebook that police, emergency services and security companies had rushed to the scene when they discovered the fire.

"It is still unclear what caused the fire to start," she said, adding that Clive Maher of SCP Security suspected the fire had started in the kitchen.

The basic education department in Gauteng confirmed later on Friday that alternative arrangements were in place for the Grade 12 NSC exams and internal examinations at Roosevelt High School.

"The cause of the fire is still unknown at this stage and no suspect has been arrested. The department would like to extend a word of gratitude to the Roosevelt Park Fire Fighters and the surrounding community who responded within minutes to extinguish the blaze before any further damage to the school infrastructure," the department said in a statement.