Ranchi, Aug 3 (IANS): Several classrooms were gutted after a fire broke out in the 184-year-old District School located in Ranchi in Jharkhand on Thursday. 

The high flames engulfed almost all the rooms of the school, sparking panic in the school. The students were inside the rooms when the fire broke out. The teachers evacuated all the students from the rooms. The fire department was informed. Fire tenders, that reached the spot after an hour, extinguished the fire.

The flames were rising so high that the entire school premises were filled with smoke. First a room caught fire and then it spread to four other classes. Class 6, 7, 8 and 9 have been gutted in the fire. The rooms that caught fire were all smart classrooms and the projectors installed in them were damaged.

It took more than four hours to extinguish the fire. The reasons of the fire are yet to be ascertained. However, short-circuit is believed to be the reason.

It may be noted that the District School in Ranchi was established in 1839 during the British rule. At that time only children from elite families used to study in this school. Since then, this school used to be among one of the renowned schools of Jharkhand-Bihar.