Police investigate cause of Duxford Primary School fire - and urge community not to speculate
Cambridgeshire police are investigating the cause of the fire that hit Duxford Community Primary School on Friday evening - but have urged the community not to speculate.
The blaze destroyed Duxford Pre-School and gutted the Key Stage 1 classrooms, prompting a crowdfunding campaign on Just Giving that smashed through its initial targets and raised more than £13,200 as of Monday afternoon.
Police were alerted to the fire at the St John’s Street school at 8.37pm on Friday and assisted as around 50 firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.
The last crew left at about 5.30am on Saturday.
Nobody was injured and no arrests have been made, but the investigation surrounding the cause is ongoing.
The building affected has been left unsafe, and will be demolished.
Sgy Emma Hilson, from the neighbourhood policing team, said: “The loss of part of the school and the pre-school is naturally devastating for the Duxford community and the surrounding area.
“We have been working closely with the school, Duxford community and the fire service to build a picture of the events of Friday evening and investigations are continuing.
“We are very aware of numerous rumours that are circulating within the community at present. We would politely ask people not to speculate on the cause of the fire, but to direct any information to us through our normal reporting channels.
“We would like to urge parents to ensure their children remain away from the site and do not trespass onto the property. The building structure has not been fully assessed and the site is closed for safety reasons. The community will see an increased police presence as a result of this.
“This is a devastating loss to the community especially for the children and teachers. Our thoughts go out to anyone that may have been affected and we will continue working alongside the school and the local authority to support them as they move closer to the new school year.”
The Rebuild Duxford School fundraising campaign on Just Giving is designed to help Duxford Community Primary School, Duxford Playgroup and DX Club.
The pre-school team told the Cambridge Independent: “All the staff and everyone involved with Duxford Preschool are devastated that our lovely village preschool has been totally destroyed by a fire.”
Fire crews from Cambridge, Gamlingay, Huntingdon and Ramsey, along with crews from Saffron Walden in Essex, Newmarket in Suffolk, plus Royston and Baldock in Hertfordshire attended the incident.
Anyone who saw any suspicious activity, or has any information, is urged to contact police via its web-chat service or by calling 101 quoting investigation number 35/51082/20.
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