Alberni District Secondary School will reopen Friday following a fire — with the exception of one small room near the source of the blaze that needs added remediation. 

Classes were cancelled Thursday after a fire broke out before the school day started, the Pacific Rim School District said.  The school has about 1,300 students in Grades 8 through 12.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Staff and the few students on site escaped the building without incident and the situation was quickly brought under control, the district said.

The school’s water-suppression system activated immediately and the Port Alberni Fire Department was at the scene within minutes.

Fire Chief Mike Owens said the fire appears to have started in a classroom space adjacent to the school’s auto mechanics area.

Owens said the fire damage was confined to the classroom of origin.

“A lot of the fire was knocked down by the sprinkler system, so there was quite a bit of water involved,” he said.

He said the school is a concrete structure, so it handled the water better than a wooden building would have.

Fire investigators remained on scene through Thursday morning.

The building was closed for the remainder of the day to allow for cleanup.

Port Alberni firefighters received assistance at the fire from the Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department, the Beaver Creek Volunteer Fire Department and the Cherry Creek Fire Department.

The school district said it was “deeply grateful” for the quick response from the fire departments, “as well as the quick actions of our staff in ensuring everyone’s safety and minimizing damage.”