Telford school evacuated over kitchen fire
Children and school staff were evacuated from a Telford school today after a fire in a kitchen.
More than 200 people were evacuated from Captain Webb School in Dawley after the fire started in a deep fat fryer.
Kitchen manager Emma Beckett raised the alarm by smashing the alarm button with her rolling pin.
All pupils and staff in the school were evacuated from the main building just after 9am.
Sarah Hodgson, deputy headteacher at the school on Webb Crescent, said: "We are very proud, the children and staff were out within two and a half minutes.
"They were superb, we have another building so we didn't have to be out in the cold. The only thing was that the bell kept ringing, but after a while we managed to get that sorted out.
"The children were very good, they all know the drill, as do the staff.
"We have two electricians on site who were super, they were in the vicinity at the time and assisted our kitchen manager Emma in putting a fire blanket over the fryer. She used her rolling pin to smash the glass on the fire alarm in true cook-style."
Due to the fire, the school dinners for the children were set to be cooked at the new Phoenix Academy in Dawley, which had been arranged for them by the school dinner service.
But no lasting damage was expected to the kitchens and everything was back to normal by the time fire crews left at 9.50am, though they removed the fryer which had been the source of the fire.
Craig Jackson, incident commander from Telford Fire Station, said: "It could have been very serious, but the kitchen manager put a fire blanket over the fryer and evacuated the school.
"When we arrived, I put in two officers in breathing apparatus with dry powder extinguishers to investigate.
"When they lifted the blanket they discovered it was still flaming and it was extinguished. We waited for it to cool slightly then removed the deep fat fryer from the school.
"The fire was contained to the deep fat fryer. We cleared the smoke and got people back inside."
