Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
A Huron County high school student is in critical condition after emergency crews responded to a report of a person on fire at a Wingham high school Tuesday morning.
Police are investigating and F.E. Madill Secondary School is shut down for the week as a result of the incident.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Huron County said they responded to a fire just after 8 a.m. ET. Emergency crews evacuated the school and extinguished the fire, and the injured person was transported to a local hospital.
“We responded with emergency services to a report of an individual that was on fire,” said OPP Const. Evan Polini. “That individual was transported by Ornge air ambulance to a trauma centre and is in stable, but critical condition, with life-threatening injuries.
An email memo sent to parents by the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) said some students at the school witnessed the incident.
Police tape surrounds F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, Ont., on April 7, 2026. (Isha Bhargava/CBC News)
AMDSB has arranged for its Tragic Events Response Support Team to be with students in-person and online to provide support as needed.
The school board declined an interview, but a spokesperson said in a statement that a staff member was treated for minor injuries and a student was being treated in hospital. Other students were safely relocated to nearby Maitland River Elementary School.
The OPP release said only one person was injured.
Community ‘torn up’
Wingham resident Jocelyn Ramers lives around the corner from the F.E. Madill and said she saw the end of Tuesday morning’s incident while driving her son to the nearby elementary school.
“I saw a bunch of kids from the high school standing around outside, which you typically do, but this was more than usual,” she said.
Ramers said she saw one male student lying on the ground and staff members stood above him using what appeared to be a fire-resistant blanket to shield his body.
When she drove by the school later the morning, Ramers said she saw emergency crews lift the teenager onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.
In an email to CBC News, the AMDSB said it will not provide the age, grade or gender of the injured student.
According to Ramers, videos of the student on fire in the school are circulating on social media and many people in the small town, an hour and a half north of London, are talking about the incident.
“I think it’s just overall devastation for a kid that young. Whether they’re in grade 12 or grade 9, they’re still at a young, vulnerable age,” she said. “It’s devastating and it’s heartbreaking, and everyone is just torn up about it.”
Police are asking anyone with video footage to not distribute it.
School to remain closed
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, police said fire crews have cleared the scene and all roads around the school have reopened.
The school is expected to remain closed for the investigation for the week, say police. The AMDSB confirmed students will switch to online classes starting Wednesday.
“We are assessing the damage that the fire caused in order to determine when students and staff can return to the school,” said AMDSB spokesperson Chera Longston. “Mental health support is being offered to both staff and students. We will continue to send updates as we receive additional information.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers.