Flames engulf the Khalsa School in East Vancouver in a fire police say was deliberately set. (CBC)

Vancouver police investigators have confirmed that a fire at a Sikh school on Thursday was deliberately set, and they are appealing to the public for assistance in locating a possible witness.

The fire spread quickly and destroyed the Khalsa School near the intersection of Fraser Street and 45th Avenue in East Vancouver. There were no injuries.

A staff member entered the school Thursday morning and called 911 when she smelled smoke. As she made the call, a second woman ran up to the school, pulled the fire alarm and yelled at the staff member to get out, Vancouver police Const. Jana McGuinness said in news release Friday.

"Arson investigators are appealing for the woman who pulled the fire alarm to contact them as she may have important information relating to the investigation," the release said.

Firefighters arrived minutes after the alarm was sounded to find the blaze already raging through the main building and several portable classrooms, sending a massive plume of smoke over the neighbourhood.

The fire was largely under control within an hour, but only one of about half a dozen portables survived the blaze.

Deputy Fire Chief Tim Armstrong said Thursday the cause of the fire appeared suspicious because it rapidly engulfed one building and two portables at virtually the same time.

Holy scripture recovered

The school's temple was also destroyed, and many feared the school's holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, had been destroyed.

But after the flames were extinguished, firefighters entered the charred buildings, recovered the book, brought it out covered in a white cloth and turned it over to a school official. The book was undamaged, and members of the temple attributed its preservation to the will of God.

Five years ago, several portables at the school were damaged by a fire that was determined not to be a case of arson.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Vancouver Police arson squad at 604-717-2541 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.