Offices destroyed in fire at Verkenner Primary

Learners can still attend school.

January 19, 2019

Terry-Ann Diergaardt 1 minute read

The ceiling collapsed in the principal's office.

School will resume as usual for learners at Verkenner Primary School in Harpur Avenue, Benoni CBD, following a fire which broke out on the premises on January 13.

The fire started in the deputy principal’s office and travelled through the ceiling to the principal’s office.

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Vincent Khoza, station manager at Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Services (DEMS), said firefighters from the Benoni Fire Station arrived on scene at 12.55am and found the office block on fire.

“They managed to contain the fire to the block.

“Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the principal and deputy principal’ offices were destroyed – containing books, calculators, math sets, CD players and official documents,” principal of the school Ray Nyalungu said.

“This is a big setback for the school as we had planned on building another Grade One class, which will have to be put on hold as we rebuild the admin block.”

Although the fire left staff members disheartened, Nyalungu would like to thank Johan Minnie from CMS for contacting the Benoni Fire Station, which quickly responded to contain the fire.

Khoza said the cause of the fire is undetermined and investigations are ongoing with the DEMS Fire Investigation Unit.

The scene was declared safe and the fire completely extinguished at around 3am.