A fire at Riverlea Secondary School in Johannesburg has left a trail of destruction, destroying an entire classroom block.
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It is understood that the blaze broke out at the school on Tuesday evening.
School fire
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Xolile Khumalo said firefighters responded to the fire incident at about 7:26pm.
“Emergency Management Services (EMS) firefighters responded to a fire incident at Riverlea Secondary School. The fire affected three classrooms, a laboratory, and the school library.”
Khumalo said the cause of the fire is undetermined and will be investigated.
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Gauteng Education
With the schools expected to reopen on Wednesday, 08 April 2026, the Gauteng Education Department said MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, will visit Riverlea Secondary School following the “devastating” fire incident.
This is the fourth fire at the same school in the past four years.
Video: Gauteng Education DepartmentClassrooms destroyed
On 27 April 2025, 11 classrooms were damaged in a blaze. At the time, police confirmed that three pupils had come forward, claiming to have started the blaze.
Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona at the time said the 11 classrooms were burnt down along with their furniture.
“Of the affected classrooms, four of them were actively being used by Grade 8 learners, while the remainder were unoccupied. Furthermore, the entire boys’ toilet block was destroyed.”
Protection
Riverlea resident Edward Scheepers told The Citizen that people were angry after the fire gutted the school.
“This is the second attempt that took place. We would like to find out what the Department of Education plans to do for our children. We need security to assist in protecting the schools.”
2023 fire
In April 2023, Riverlea Secondary School needed the assistance of the fire department to assess and extinguish a fire that broke out at the school just after 2pm.
The school principal, Ashley Harris, was on site when the fire broke out and, with the assistance of community members, tried to extinguish the fire before emergency services arrived.
According to Keagan Everson, a community leader, the section of the school that burnt down was next to the old woodworking area, and those classrooms had been out of use for over 15 years due to a previous fire.
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