Worker thawing pipe with blowtorch starts fire at Garden City Collegiate

A fire at Garden City Collegiate over the lunch hour Monday temporarily disrupted classes for some students.

According to fire officials, an employee was attempting to thaw a frozen pipe with a blowtorch.

The pipe was located on an exterior wall of the building and insulated with a flammable material that caught fire and spread to the inside of the wall.

Smoke alarms went off and the east side of the building was evacuated.

Firefighters broke a hole in the wall to attack the flames and were able to extinguish the fire.

While firefighters knocked down the blaze, classes on that side of the school were cancelled and students were kept in the gymnasium on the west side of the school, separated from the east side by fire doors.

Students were able to return to classes throughout the building by later in the day.

Seven Oaks School Division Superintendent Brian O’Leary said the techniques used to thaw frozen pipes will be reviewed.

No damage estimates were immediately available.

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  Firefighters had to break through an exterior wall at Garden City Collegiate to get at flames that spread to an interior wall when a worker was using a blowtorch to thaw a frozen pipe that was wrapped with flammable insulation.