School closed after early-morning fire at Toco Secondary

SOME classrooms at the Toco Secondary School were damaged by a fire believed to have been set by an intruder in the early morning on February 28.

A source at the school told Newsday students and teachers were notified about the incident and told about the closure of the school, at least for the day.

Principal Verona Davis-Modeste, along with the vice-principal and teachers looked on as police and firefighters responded to the blaze on February 28.

Newsday called police Eastern Division Supt Ryan Khan for more information relating to the fire but he was unable to confirm or share further details at the time.

Officials at the Sangre Grande Fire Station confirmed they responded to the fire but would share no further details at the time.

Attempts to contact Davis-Modeste for comment have not yet been successful and calls to the school went unanswered up to the time of writing.

However, Davis-Modeste is expected to update the school about upcoming classes in a memo later on February 28.

The source at the school said the cafeteria operator was left shaken by the discovery.

The perpetrators allegedly stole items from the cafeteria but either missed or ignored a petty-cash tin with money inside.

The source added that there was no surveillance on the compound that could have captured the incident.

It is not yet clear how many classrooms were affected and the extent of the damage.