School response to fire praised

The prompt evacuation of Pennar Community School after a small fire in a classroom yesterday morning (Wednesday) has been praised by the fire brigade.

The alarm was raised at 8.53am – when pupils were still arriving at school and before registration had taken place.

The fire, which was put out quickly by firefighters, caused very minimal smoke damage. Nobody was injured.

Crew Manager Phil Barry of Pembroke Dock Fire Station said the evacuation was a ‘logistical nightmare’ for the school, given the time of day, but it was very efficient.

“It deserves praise,” he said.  “It was an extremely difficult time, just before school started, and yet within three or four minutes of me asking if everybody was accounted for, I received a definitive ‘yes’ from the head teacher.

“It was a fantastic example of the fire evacuation process working perfectly. The head teacher and staff did a very, very good job. Parents can be reassured that the process worked very well.”

The fire started in a fluorescent light in a classroom ceiling and was quickly contained.

Head teacher Damon McGarvie said: “Fortunately it was a small fire and the fire brigade responded very professionally.

“The staff and the parents were great. As soon as I asked for everyone to be evacuated, the staff clicked into action, they knew the process well and they carried it out efficiently.”

Mr McGarvie also praised the parents, who he updated during the incident via the school tannoy system. “I asked them to move to the main playground and there were no problems with that at all, and they stayed there with the children.”

Paramedics also attended at the school, although they fortunately weren’t required, and the police were called to the incident to deal with traffic problems caused by parking near the school grounds.

“Parking is an issue at the school, and I would remind people to park responsibly,” said Fire Officer Barry.

He also said that anyone who would like any fire safety a