P50-M aid for fire-hit school
-A A +ATuesday, August 14, 2012
CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano pledged on Monday P50 million for the repair works of the City Central School seriously damaged by a fire on Sunday dawn.
Several classrooms and city division offices in the school were razed by the fire that lasted for almost an hour.
The mayor said on Monday’s flag-raising ceremony that the City Government will help the city’s premier public school recover, citing education is very important for the children.
After personally checking the condition of the school located along Yacapin-Velez Streets, Emano ordered City Engineer’s Office head Mario Batar to prepare the plan and program of works for the immediate construction of new school buildings and offices.
“The students and faculty staff of the school will have a place to return to in no time,” Emano said.
Based on the report of City Fire Marshal Shirley Teleron, around 59 classrooms--mostly for grades five and six pupils--and division offices turned into ashes in the conflagration believed to be ignited by a faulty wiring or unplugged electric fan.
Damage to properties, Teleron said, could reach to P70 million in this year’s biggest fire incident in the city that also destroyed part of the school’s covered court.
Teleron cited laxity on the part of the school’s on-duty watchmen who allegedly failed to call the city’s fire station on time.
“Serious damage could have been prevented if they made an immediate call for help,” Teleron said.
Meanwhile, City Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya urged all school administrators and principals in the locality to check the power loads in all classrooms and offices before going home as “precautionary measure” if only to avoid a repetition of such incident.
Nacaya, who is the committee chair on police, fire and public safety, also encouraged them to undertake maintenance work on all electrical wiring systems.
He also advised the teachers to be careful by personally assisting the students in turning off and removing the plugs of electrical devices in the classrooms before going home.
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on August 14, 2012.
Local news
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