TAWAU: A wooden school building on Pulau Sebatik near here was destroyed in a fire today.
In the noon incident, SMK Wallace Bay’s administration office and staff room were destroyed. No one was hurt because everybody managed to leave the building.
The school’s Form Four and Five students were sitting for their first semester exam when the incident occurred.
Rafidah Rappe said she was sorting exam papers with the other teachers in the staff room when she smelled smoke.
“I saw smoke and fire coming from the roof. The teachers rushed out of the building. The fire spread very fast because of the hot weather,” she said, adding that students were let off early.
The school has 289 students, 26 teachers and five non-academic staff.
District fire and rescue chief Sharudy Delamin said the department received a distress call at 12.09pm.
He said nine firefighters were despatched to the island on the department’s boat. They were assisted by marine police.
It takes 20 minutes to get to the island by boat from the mainland.