Wiltshire village school severely damaged by fire
Fire crews battled blaze that ripped through Woodborough Primary near Pewsey
Last updated 18th Sep 2021
A total of 12 fire crews and fire appliances attended the scene, including those from Salisbury, Amesbury, Mere, and some from Hampshire battled the blaze last night at Woodborough Primary near Pewsey.
The alarm was raised at 6.40pm last night (Friday 17 Sept 2021). Call handlers at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue took the first of several calls reporting smoke issuing from a building in Woodborough.
To start with fire crews from Pewsey, Devizes and Marlborough were sent. The first crew confirmed the school was on fire and called for back up. Fire crews were then sent from Calne, Trowbridge and Salisbury (pumping appliances), Stratton (incident command unit), Royal Wootton Bassett (command support pump) and Swindon (aerial ladder platform).
But the fire was threatening to spread to a neighbouring property so further back up was called a short while after which resulted in crews from Amesbury, Westbury, Andover and Chippenham being mobilised along with a water carrier from Andover. Due to the sheer number of crews tackling the fire it was also necessary to make arrangements to maintain fire cover throughout the rest of the county.
Hose reel jets and main jets were been used to extinguish the fire with the aerial ladder platform being used to strip roof tiles to check for fire spread and thermal imaging cameras used to check for hot spots.
The blaze was brought under control but crews remained at the scene for several hours.
Several roads were closed, and during the blaze neighbours were advised to keep their windows closed because of the amount of smoke from the blaze.
It's not yet clear yet what caused this devastating fire to break out in the roof space of the village school.
COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO SCHOOL FIRE
A Gofundme page, to help Woodborough Primary School, which was set-up just hours after the blaze, has already raised thousands of pounds.
Pewsey Community Coronavirus Assistance, a voluntary support group that was established to help people in and around Pewsey posted on Facebook:
"Our thoughts are with the children and staff of Woodborough CE Primary School tonight. Although the devastating fire has torn through the building, the heart of the school will never be destroyed. Your community will support you. We will gather and rebuild. We are all here for you."
Devizes MP, Danny Kruger said last night:
"I understand there is an ongoing fire this evening at Woodborough School in Pewsey. I have just spoken with the Chief Fire Officer and thankfully it does not appear there were any casualties. I will continue to wait for updates on the damage caused and my thoughts are with all those who will be affected."