October 08, 2024
Garden City Fire Company #1/Facebook
Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire at the Saint Francis of Assisi Parish School in Springfield Township, Delaware County on Monday. The cause of the fire has not been revealed, but no injuries were reported. The school canceled classes on Tuesday.
A Catholic school building in Delaware County was heavily damaged by a fire Monday evening, but no one was injured, authorities said.
The two-alarm blaze began after 5 p.m. in Saint Francis of Assisi Parish School's primary building, which serves pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first and third grade students. The cause has not been revealed, but authorities said no one was in the building when it was on fire.
The school, at 112 Saxer Ave. in Springfield Township, canceled Tuesday's classes.
Plans to find an "alternate learning location" for the 150 students affected by the loss of classroom space are in the works, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia told NBC10. It is unclear whether classes would be canceled beyond Tuesday.
Springfield police kept the roads near the school closed through Monday night. Police had opened roads near Saint Francis by Tuesday morning except for Saxer Avenue between Rolling and Orchard roads.
"Rest assured, we are a strong community," a statement posted to the school's Facebook page reads. "We are surrounded by a town that cares about us. Things can always be replaced. People cannot. And it will be the people, through our collective efforts, that see through this difficult time."
Saint Francis of Assisi Parish School was established in 1929 and teaches children from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.
