Vandalism at Arrecife school forces classroom relocation after fire damage

An act of vandalism at CEIP Los Geranios, a school in Arrecife, has forced the relocation of students from several classrooms.

According to Enrique Espinosa, manager of the Security and Emergency Consortium, it was the school’s cleaning staff who contacted emergency services at 7:20am on Tuesday, reporting that several areas of the school had been vandalised.

Arrecife’s Councillor for Education, Abigail González, who went to the school first thing in the morning, reported that the police are examining the vandalised areas to identify those responsible. For now, it is believed that a large group was involved, though nothing has been confirmed yet.

As for the damage caused, one of the classrooms (the preschool classroom) suffered the worst damage, with the tables and chairs burned. The fire that broke out in this room also filled the adjacent classrooms with smoke, forcing the school’s cleaning staff and municipal services to ventilate the area. The students were relocated to other classrooms upon their arrival at the school.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, there were no longer any flames, but the school premises were affected by smoke. In addition to the fire in one of the classrooms, the blackboards and furniture were vandalised with paint, and the cafeteria was ransacked, with food thrown across the room.

Meanwhile, the Arrecife Local Police cordoned off the area and diverted traffic.