FIRE DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT $5 M, CLEARING UP TO TAKE PLACE
There will be a partial resumption of classes on Friday, at Oracabessa Primary School, St Mary, following a fire that led to the suspension of school on Thursday, February 27.
The fire did damage estimated at $5 million. The cause of the fire is not known. FIRE DESTROYS PART OF ORACABESSA PRIMARY SCHOOL
Principal of the school Winsome McFarlane Forbes says there will be partial resumption of classes on Friday, February 28, 2025. She told the North Coast Times that grades 3 through to grade 6 will turn out on Friday, which is also Jamaica Day when students participate in activities celebrating Jamaica’s culture.
(Two workers look at the rubble from Wednesday night’s fire at Oracabessa Primary, Oracabessa)
The other grades will engage in online classes Friday. Full resumption is expected Monday, March 3.
The school is expecting assistance from the North East Parks and Markets (NEPM) to help remove the rubble from the burnt building.
A building containing three rooms made of wood and zinc was destroyed. The building housed a reading room, a Physical Education Room and a makeshift store room. Furniture, electronic items, sporting goods, and trophies were destroyed.
Six hundred and twenty students attend the school. There are 27 teachers on staff.
Assistant Commissioner of the Fire Brigade for Area 2, Julian Davis Buckle said the Fire Department was notified of the fire at 11:22 p.m. Wednesday. One unit responded from the Ocho Rios Fire station. Firefighters say the blaze was at the rear of the premises and they contained it there.
The units from Port Maria fire station, St Mary, were engaged in fighting other fires, including the burning of a car at the time
