Smoked out of class

By Sarah Schwager
PAKENHAM Secondary College woodwork students were smoked out of class on Monday.
Students were evacuated from the woodwork room after a wood dust extractor under the building malfunctioned and caught fire around 1pm.
Pakenham CFA firefighter Daniel Ingram said an imaging camera had to be brought from Springvale to determine the cause of the fire.
It took 20 firefighters with units from Pakenham, Frankston, Springvale, Officer and Berwick 10 to 15 minutes to get under control.
Mr Ingram said the fire had been hard to get to, with firefighters having to go through a rear shed full of furniture at the back of the building.
He said they then dragged the unit outside so they could put the fire out.
“It had snuffed itself out,” Mr Ingram said. “They were very lucky.
“Possibly if it had happened at night it could have kept going.”
Pakenham Secondary College assistant principal Bruce Churchward said the fire had been kept under control and there had been no damage to the building.
“After the fire was discovered we got the kids out straight away,” Mr Churchward said.
He said the school immediately called the fire brigade.
“They came straight away, which is great,” he said.
He said four trucks had responded and kept the situation under control.
Mr Ingram said the school would have to replace the wood dust extractor and some of the wiring, as there had been some electrical damage, but there had been no damage to the building.
He said the students had been able to return to the building soon after the fire was under control and the area cleared.