Dundee City Council has played down an incident in which a major secondary school was without a fire alarm system and teachers were ordered not to tell pupils about the problem.
Officials insisted that Baldragon Academy in Burn Street was affected for less than an hour, and by the time temporary alarms were delivered the permanent system was back in action.
The Courier received copy of a memo from head teacher Kenneth Hearn to principal teachers concerning the fire alarm system and sensors being inoperable at Baldragon last Thursday.
He asked all members of staff to remain vigilant with regard to fire safety protocols and, in the event of discovering a fire, to evacuate the area immediately.
Mr Hearn said that if possible staff should raise the alarm with colleagues and advise the school office of the situation.
The head teacher said temporary alarms were being delivered and would be placed in strategic locations. The situation was being investigated as a matter of great urgency, and he added: ”Under no circumstances should pupils be made aware of the situation.”
He expected the school would continue to function as normal.
The anonymous sender of the memo to The Courier stated: ”It beggars belief that pupils’ lives should be endangered in this secretive fashion, or for that matter, any fashion whatsoever.”
The city council confirmed there had been a problem with the permanent fire alarm at Baldragon but explained the context of the situation.
Education convener Stewart Hunter said: ”During a period of routine maintenance the fire alarm system at the school was down for less than an hour.
”Following standard procedure the head teacher notified senior staff and ordered an alternative way to notify anyone in the school if there was a fire in the meantime. Because the alarm was back up and running quickly, the alternative was not needed.”