Parkview Junior School's hall goes up in flames, workers unharmed

A hall at Parkview Junior School in Johannesburg was gutted by fire in the early hours of Tuesday.

When TimesLIVE arrived on the scene the fire had been extinguished.

Principal Fiona Pennington said though the fire was unfortunate, she was relieved it happened at night and when pupils were at home. Schools countrywide have been closed due to coronavirus.

“I was alerted at 3am that there was a fire at the school. When I arrived at 4am the fire fighters were here trying to save it,” she said.

Some parents arrived at the institution to find out what had happened and offer help.

According to a statement from security company 24/7, one of its staff members noticed flames coming from the building while on patrol.

Backup was called and the area was secured. Charley Mothiba and Abram Chweni, who work at the school, were unharmed, said 24/7.

The men said they did not hear or smell anything, said the security company.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, said Pennington.