Fire closes school in Maple Ridge Wednesday

Garibaldi Secondary School in Maple Ridge is closed Wednesday after a fire Tuesday night.

In a statement on its website, School District 42 says the Maple Ridge Fire Department was called out to the fire, and while it was contained, the school will remain closed for a damage assessment and “ensure the safety of the premises.”

“We understand the disruption this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding. We will provide an update as soon as more information becomes available.”

According to the Ridge Meadows RCMP, the fire broke out around 9 p.m. Tuesday.

In a statement to CityNews, the school district shares the school will reopen for classes Thursday.

“Garibaldi Secondary will be open tomorrow, though the cafeteria and kitchen will remain closed for the remainder of this school year. The majority of the damage is limited to smoke and water, and we will be working to clean and restore the affected areas.”

Maple Ridge Fire Department chief Dave Samson says he doesn’t know the exact timeframe of when the fire started, but his crews acted quickly enough to prevent major damage.

“The sprinkler certainly helped. But then our crews did a good job, so it really limited the damage to the school, which is so important,” said Samson.

He said the crews determined that the fire’s origin was “not suspicious,” and the RCMP’s investigative team had been “released” from the scene last night.

Samson said a fire department investigator will be on scene Wednesday to find out more about the fire, which is believed to have started among “linens” in the school’s kitchen.

–With files from Monika Gul