Portsmouth school fire being treated as arson, police confirm

Fire crews from Southsea and Cosham attended the incident at 7.32pm at Manor Infant School on Inverness Road, Fratton, where a wooden gazebo was alight.

Firefighters took an hour to bring the inferno under control using two hose reel jets as nearby residents watched on. No one was injured. The gazebo was destroyed by the fire.

Now police have revealed they are treating the incident as arson. A force spokesperson said: “We received a report at 9.09pm last night (1 April) of a fire at Manor Infant School.

“The fire was reported to have taken place at a wooden lodge on the school grounds at around 7.45pm. The fire has been reported as an arson, and enquiries remain ongoing.”

A fire service spokesperson said: “The fire had broken out in a wooden gazebo located within the school premises, causing it to be destroyed. The firefighters wore breathing apparatus and used one jet and hose reel to extinguish the fire.”