Sixty firefighters battled a suspicious blaze at Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School – one of the city’s oldest surviving schools - in East Vancouver Friday night.

The blaze began in a third floor closet around 7 p.m. Crews were on the scene until midnight, eventually getting control of the four-alarm fire by fighting it from inside of the building.

Flames and smoke could be seen shooting from the roof of the building, and dozens of people gathered to watch efforts to extinguish the blaze. 

Vancouver Fire Chief John McKearney told CTV News it was a stubborn fire to extinguish because of several layers of old roofing.

The building sustained significant smoke and water damage during the blaze. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

Two firefighters were injured in the blaze, one straining his back and another suffering a migraine after inhaling smoke.

An engineer and investigators were at the scene Saturday morning to examine the structure, and determine if the cause of the blaze was electrical.

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School is one of the oldest surviving schools in the city, according to Heritage Vancouver, and was built in 1896.

“[This school] has been a place for students since 1896 – it’s beloved, and it’s central to what this whole neighbourhood is,” said Adrian Dix, NDP MLA for the area. “Obviously it’s heartbreaking to see the brick building on fire.”

“It’s pretty devastating sight to see flames coming from the roof an elementary school in Vancouver,” added Patti Bacchus, Vancouver School Board trustee. 

This isn’t the first time the school has been on fire: in 2008 fire crews battled a blaze started by an arson.  

It was also named on the list of 12 schools being considered for closure by the Vancouver School Board.

In a statement, the VSB says it’s too early to say what effect the fire would have on this process.

“VSB is conscious this will be an upsetting development for the students of the school and their families shortly before the start of the new school year,” read the statement.

“The district will be assessing the school buildings over the next few days to determine whether or not students and staff can remain at Carleton for the start of school in September or whether they will need to be moved to another site.”

An investigation is ongoing.