Qld: School fire prompts massive response

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2008
Qld: School fire prompts massive response

BRISBANE, Dec 7 AAP - Sixteen fire crews have brought under control a huge blaze at
a central Queensland boarding school.

Seven urban brigades were joined by nine rural crews to battle the fire at St Brendan's
College, a Catholic boys' boarding and day school near Rockhampton.

Incident controller Colin May said the Yeppoon Fire Brigade was called to the school's
Harris Building at around 11am (AEST) on Sunday.

They found the fire was in the rear of the chapel, which adjoins the Harris Building,
and was spreading into the roof area.

"Additional resources were called from Emu Park and Rockhampton," Mr May told AAP.

"We ended up with eight urban fire appliances on scene, we had assistance from the
Rockhampton airport with one of their large tenders, and we had six or seven rural appliances
attend for extra manpower.

"We needed heaps of hands."

Mr May said the roof of the Harris Building - one of the original buildings at the
school, which opened in 1940 - and the second floor were destroyed or badly damaged.

"We saved the chapel," Mr May said.

"We actually used the rural blokes to move a lot of the furnishings back away from the fire."

Only a small number of people were at the school at the time of the fire and all have
been accounted for.

The school year ended at St Brendan's on November 27.

AAP stg/wf

KEYWORD: CHAPEL WRAP

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