A fire that broke out at Holy Cross RC Primary School in the Cape Town CBD has gutted five classrooms, including plans for a new library.

Firefighters were called out to the school on Thursday afternoon after plumes of smoke were seen emanating from the premises in Keizersgracht Street.

“There are eight [firefighting] vehicles and 27 firefighters on [the] scene,” City of Cape Town fire services spokesperson Theo Layne said.

The school was evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Staff members who had been evacuated told News24 they weren’t sure where the fire started, but believed that it might have gained momentum in the library. The library is currently under construction.

One staff member recounted seeing the fire start. She said she was making her way into the main school building when she first saw the blaze.

At that point, she alerted fire emergencies.

“It looked like the more they poured water, the more the fire gained momentum.”

All children inside were immediately evacuated.

“It moved so quickly,” said deputy principal Paul Roussouw.

Roussouw said he lost all his teaching and learning material. “My class is gone,” he added.

Inside the building that burned were grades R, 4 and 7.

Roussouw added that teaching would continue on Friday and counselling would be provided for pupils.

Parts of the building remained standing. The roof was severely damaged in the blaze and many windows were broken.

[source: News24]