Robertsham Primary School suffered an estimated R30 000 damage due to an explosion at a nearby fibreglass factory on Saturday, but principal Sharon Lynch still has reason to be grateful.
”Thank God it did not happen during a school day,” she said on Monday.
”I think somebody is looking after us.”
The factory, Harvey’s Fibreglass, was only about 300 metres from the school.
”Some of our children walk past it every day.”
Lynch said she was concerned about the presence of such a hazard at a factory in the area. She also wanted to know whether factories in the area — some of whom used inflammable materials ‒ were checked regularly to see whether they complied with safety rules and regulations.
”The safety of the children is the biggest concern.”
The school’s caretaker alerted Lynch of the explosion on Saturday night. At that stage, they were told to evacuate the building. Roads in the area were cordoned off as well. The school suffered some structural damage and about 80 windows were broken. The front door was also damaged. Besides that, there was the worry about a possible break-in, since the alarms in the administration block could not be activated over the weekend, the principal said.
Lynch arrived at the school very early on Monday morning, along with some of her staff, to sweep away the broken glass and tape cardboard over the broken windows.
Other nearby schools sent some of their support staff to help look after the pupils until it was safe for them to return to their classrooms. By 9am classes had resumed, Lynch said.
The repair work would be deferred until the afternoon so as to cause the least disruption, she said.
The insurance company’s assessors had already paid a visit on Monday morning to gauge the damage.
Some of the windows were very large and would cost about R1 000 each to replace.
A number of the school’s pupils who lived close to the factory and whose houses had been damaged, did not come to school on Monday, Lynch said.
Johannesburg emergency services representative Malcolm Midgley earlier said 268 houses and 30 factories were damaged.
The roofs of some of the houses were destroyed, while others were damaged. Windows were also blown out, he said.
Midgley estimated that about 10 houses were damaged to such an extent that the occupants had not yet been able to return. Inspections to determine whether the houses were safe were being conducted on Monday. – Sapa