'Arson' investigation launched after blaze at former Balsall Heath school building

A fire which ripped through a former school building in Birmingham is being treated as a deliberate arson attack. The blaze took hold at an empty building, which used to be part of St Paul’s School, in Clifton Road, Balsall Heath shortly before 1pm on Monday (April 22).

More than 30 West Midlands Fire Service firefighters from six crews and a hydraulic aerial platform tackled the blaze after getting to the fire shortly before 2pm on the first floor and roof space of the empty building, with support from a drone operator. Clifton Road and Hertford Road were closed off, with Brunswick Road also partially closed between White Road and Hertford Road.

The school's roof collapsed and windows were burnt out at the Victorian building hit by the blaze. Firefighters remained into the night to tackle the fire putting it out but some remaining overnight to ‘identify and damp down hot spots’..

Read more: Former pupils and teachers 'heartbroken' after school goes up in flames

Concerns have been raised about the fire causing ‘structural issues’, which hampered a full inspection of the site on Tuesday. Clifton Road remained closed on Tuesday as Birmingham City Council officers and school representatives attended the scene.

The last fire crew left at 1.35pm but the fire service said they would return ‘throughout the day and night to check for hotspots’. It said investigations into the cause continued.

But West Midlands Police has now said the incident is believed to be an arson attack. It is appealing for witnesses to come forward. A spokesperson for the force said: “We’re appealing for information following a fire in the Balsall Heath area of Birmingham on Monday (April 22).

"We were called to a report that a fire had broken out at a disused building on Clifton Road shortly before 1pm. West Midlands Fire Service attended and a nearby school was safely evacuated while crews dealt with the fire. At this stage, no one is believed to have been injured."

The statement continued: “Officers remain at the scene with fire crews who continue to assess the damage and make the site secure. Enquiries are continuing to establish the cause of the fire but we suspect it may have been started deliberately.

“We are asking for anyone with information to get in touch by calling 101 or via Live Chat on our website quoting log 2484 of 22 April.” Alternatively, anyone with any information can contact independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.