A fire broke out on the Palm Avenue campus of Ashok Hall Girls’ Higher Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The school building was shut because of renovation, the police said.

The classes have been shifted to two other buildings in the vicinity.

An official of the school said the building was empty when the fire broke out.

Classes were last held on the Palm Avenue premises of Ashok Hall Girls’ Higher Secondary School on December 10. The G + 3 building is meant for students from Nursery to Class V.

Two fire tenders doused the flames. “The fire broke out in an air-conditioner duct around 12.25pm and was extinguished by 12.50pm,” said a fire department official.

Residents of the area were the first to spot the smoke.

“When we first saw the smoke, it looked scary. We were worried about the fire spreading in the neighbourhood,” said a resident.

A private agency is carrying out the renovation, a school official said.

“We are upgrading our school to match the demands of the times. Hopefully, we will shift to the renovated building in the new academic session in April,” the official said.

Parents had been notified about the shift of classes in November.

“Over the past month, my child has been attending classes in another building in Ballygunge. The school had sent a notice and we were told that the renovation will take a few months,” said the mother of a Class I student.