Students sent home early as tumble dryer fire sees school evacuated
Hundreds of pupils were evacuated and sent home early after a fire at a school in Willenhall today.
Staff and students at Willenhall E-Act Academy cleared the site as soon as the electrical fire was found this afternoon.
Staff called 999 at 12:51pm and two fire engines from Willenhall and Bloxwich Fire Service attended the scene, where a tumble dryer had caused the blaze.
The first crew arrived at the school in Furzebank Way in under five minutes and began tackling the fire.
The blaze was out just before 2pm but firefighters stayed at the scene to assess the scale of the damage.
Nobody was injured during the incident and pupils were sent home early shortly afterwards. The school is set to stay shut tomorrow.
Willenhall E-Act Academy, which has around 800 students aged between 11 and 18, said on its Facebook page: "A small electrical fire occurred today just after 1.00pm and we had to evacuate the building.
"As per any evacuation plan, for speed and safety, students and staff left their belongings in the school.
"The fire service attended and the the fire was put out. However, owing to the smoke in the building and the risk of fire that may have spread in the walls, for safety reasons, we have had to send some students home without their belongings.
Due to smoke still present in certain parts of the building, school will be closed tomorrow to all students and staff.
"We anticipate opening again on Friday but will update you accordingly.
"Can we take this opportunity to commend our students on their conduct and excellent behaviour during the incident."
