Copmanthorpe Childcare Centre in York reopens after fire

Back in February a fire caused by an electrical fault tore through the nursery at Copmanthorpe and firefighters were called in shortly before 6.30 in the morning.

Now, months later, Copmanthorpe Childcare Centre has reopened and on Saturday (October 1) staff are holding an official open day to welcome in the community.

Assistant manager, Jo Brown, said: "On the day of the fire we got a call to say the building was on fire and firefighters were on site. We got to the nursery at about 7am, and it was a huge shock to see the extent of the damage. The firefighters had put it out by 8am and the building was still standing, but inside nothing was salvageable and it wasn't safe.

"The first amazing thing that happened after the fire was that we were offered the use of the Scout hut, which is just behind the nursery, which we were allowed to use for the next six months.

"We closed for two weeks and the village parents and businesses rallied round, a GoFundMe page was set up and people donated toys and in the end we went from nothing to making a whole nursery in two weeks.

"The old building was brought down and we have been in the new building now since the first week of September."

The aftermath of the fire at the old Copmanthorpe Childcare Centre in York (Image: UGC)

Sarah McPherson centre manager, said: "We have had such a crazy few months since the fire in February.

"Getting temporary premises in the Scout hut at Copmanthorpe and getting the building to an Ofsted standard within two weeks was a huge achievement, which we wouldn't have been able to do without the help and support from our parents and the wider community.

"Sharing the setting with the Scouts Beavers and Guides has been great and we are super grateful for their understanding and cooperation with what can have only been a challenging time for them too.

"The nursery team has worked really hard with the constant change and the challenges that this has brought. I am so proud of them and can't thank them enough for all their support.

"We then had the largest challenge of all, designing and preparing for a new building. We needed to get it up and running before the winter set in as we had to get heavy machinery across a well used sports field due to our location and didn't want the rain to stop us. So it was full steam ahead."

The aftermath of the fire at the old Copmanthorpe Childcare Centre in York (Image: UGC)

Sarah said staff are now looking forward to the open day to welcome parents of past and present pupils to see the new building and thank them for all their support.

"We now love our new building, we want to celebrate as a community and can finally settle into our new home," she said.

The nursery will be welcoming people between 10am-2pm on Saturday in Baron's Crescent in Copmanthorpe.