It is 10 years since fire ripped through Dundee’s majestic Morgan Academy building. Here, in the first of a series of special articles, Stefan Morkis remembers a famous night in the city’s history and the school community’s determination to bounce back.
Nobody knows for sure what turned an ordinary Wednesday 10 years ago today into the most momentous occasion in Morgan Academy’s history.
As pupils filed out of the A-listed building, their thoughts would have been on homework, looming exams or that they only had two more days to go until the respite from school that the weekend brings.
But within 90 minutes of the school day ending, a desperate battle was being fought to prevent their school being obliterated.
It is believed workmen repairing the roof of the 143-year-old building may have inadvertently started the fire that was, at its peak, visible across Dundee as 100ft flames rose from the building.
Investigators believe a miniscule globule of melted bitumen tar may have ignited in the roof space. The tar bubble is thought to have burned for an hour after the workmen finished at 4pm before sparking a full-blown fire in the roof.
Unfortunately for the school and firefighters who had to fight the blaze for hours, strong winds that evening whipped the flames into a true inferno.
The flames were spotted soon after 5.15pm and thick clouds of smoke blanketed Forfar Road. Although firefighters felt they had the blaze under control by 6.30pm the wind picked up and the fire spread from the roof to the floors below.
Firefighters with breathing apparatus were sent inside the school but were withdrawn as the threat of the school collapsing on them increased.
At that point, it seemed the school would be consumed by the flames and one of Dundee’s most iconic buildings would disappear for ever.
At 7.45pm exactly, the school’s clock tower crumbled, disappearing into the hungry flames beneath it.
Around 70 firefighters were involved in the battle to douse the flames, which lasted well into the night. The following morning, the school was still smouldering as fire crews worked to damp down the building.
Before the flames died out, however, council officers were already dealing with the logistical problem of finding a new home for nearly 1000 pupils, many of whom were due to sit exams within a few weeks.
Within hours of the blaze being reported, it had been decided to move pupils to the mothballed Rockwell School. Amazingly, senior Morgan pupils began lessons at the new school on the Monday after the fire, with the junior pupils joining them later.
However, there were still challenges to overcome. Vital coursework had been destroyed in the blaze, as had every item of teaching material in the school.
Remarkably, as teachers, staff and pupils rallied round, pupils prospered at Rockwell and exam results later that year showed the disruption had little effect on pupils.
Although it was feared the school would have to be demolished completely, a month later the city council announced that it would be rebuilt and that enough of the iconic facade remained to restore fully.
The £20 million project took three years to complete, finally opening to pupils for the start of the 2004/05 academic term.
Current rector Stephen Shaw will welcome his predecessor as head teacher, Alan Constable, back to the school today to commemorate the occasion. Dundee City Council’s former director of education Anne Wilson and other former members of staff will also attend today’s event.
“While we would not wish to celebrate such a disaster, it is appropriate at this time to remember and celebrate the hard work, commitment and dedication of pupils and staff many of whom are still with us today which resulted in the speedy and efficient move to the Rockwell building and the resumption of a ‘normal’ education for many pupils less than one week after the disaster,” said Mr Shaw.
“This was despite the trauma of the event itself and the subsequent loss of personal effects by both pupils and staff, with staff in particular losing years of lesson preparation and support materials.
“As the current rector of Morgan I would like to acknowledge the leadership and commitment shown by rector Alan Constable, acting rector Stewart Noble, the rest of the senior management team and all of the staff which ensured that the disruption to pupils’ education was minimised.”