National

Elementary school in Surrey set to reopen after fire

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 Nov, 2023 09:42 AM

An elementary school in the Metro Vancouver municipality of Surrey is set to reopen the day after an early-morning fire caused damage to an annex building.

A message posted on the website of Cloverdale Traditional says the fire department and staff from the school district assessed the whole school and determined it could reopen and classes could resume on Friday.

It says there is no damage from smoke or flames in the school's main building, with damage limited to the annex building.

Officials with Surrey Fire Services say no one was injured in the fire, which forced the school to remain closed for the day.

Rich Bodnark, assistant chief of operations, says a crew was dispatched to the school at 7 a.m. Thursday, finding the exterior of a building ablaze.

The department says the cause of fire is under investigation.

Bodnark says an interior fire was difficult to put out because of the building's age and heavy timber construction, but the crew managed to extinguish it.

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