Tuesday, March 25, 2008 School loses bldg., P100T in property to fire
AN OLD school building in the southern town of Boljoon, Cebu was razed in a dawn fire yesterday.
Damage to property was estimated at P100,000.
The fire, which occurred around 1 a.m., was traced to the principal’s office of the Granada Elementary School in Baragay South Granada.
Firemen controlled the blaze in five minutes, but it took them four hours to completely extinguish the fire.
Cause of blaze
SPO1 Roderick Roma said the school building was mostly made of wood and was built in the 1950s.
The rooms used to be classrooms but recently, Roma said, the building was turned into the principal’s office, where computers and other appliances were kept.
Though it was an old building, Roma said it was made of strong wood and remained a sturdy structure.
Investigators are looking into the possibility of an electrical short circuit as the cause of the blaze, considering that the building was old and could also have old connections.
However, Roma said they are also trying to determine if an appliance was left on since the Lenten holiday started. Since these were no classes during the holiday, there would have been no one to check.
Classrooms spared
The past days were also very hot, Roma said.
He said that since the building was a separate structure, the classrooms were spared.
Aside from the Boljoon Fire Station, Roma said they were also aided by fire fighters from the neighboring Dalaguete Fire Station. (MEA)
