Dordogne school evacuated due to fire

A fire broke out this Friday, September 12, around 3 p.m., in the Henri-Jacquement school buildings in Marsac-sur-l'Isle. The mayor of the town, Yannick Bidaud, was notified of the situation at the time of the incident. The school had to be quickly evacuated. Supervised by their teachers, the 132 students who attended the school were taken to safety. "Everything went well, they evacuated calmly," explains Yannick Bidaud. "We hadn't been able to do an evacuation drill at the start of the school year, but now we can!" says the chief magistrate, relieved that everything went well. "The students were able to collect their school belongings, with a few exceptions."

Quickly brought under control by firefighters, the fire reportedly broke out at roof level, on a terrace that joins the roofs of two buildings, after work and the use of a blowtorch. "A company was conducting a survey to establish a quote. While digging, the waterproofing burned, as well as some of the insulation underneath," explained the mayor of the town, who was on site directing families who had come to collect their children.

By late afternoon, firefighters were still on site and had removed the fiberglass to prevent the fire from reigniting. The damage did not appear to be too extensive. "We'll see," confided Yannick Bidaud. "Depending on what the firefighters tell us, we might have to move one or two classrooms when school starts on Monday."