LESS than two weeks before the opening of classes, a senior high school building of the Bernardo Carpio National High School in Barangay Buhangin, Davao City was burned down on Thursday evening.

Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Davao Senior Fire Officer (SFO) 2 Ramil Gillado said Friday that the fire incident started at 10:58 p.m. on May 23 involving a two-storey educational building.

The point of origin is at the second floor. The first alarm status was maintained since the fire did not grow big and it was put under control at 11:45 p.m.

After ensuring that there was no more chance for it to rekindle, the firefighters declared fire out at 12:25 a.m. on Friday with no injuries recorded.

Damages from the fire were estimated to be at around P2.88 million.

Gillado said that the probable cause is electrical short circuit.

“Mao nay angle gitan-aw sa atong investigator. Possible naay na-develop na damage sa insulator sa wirings either sa kadaan or nakitkitan sa mananap or ilaga ug nagkaroon og open wire ug nagdikit ang resulta mag short circuit siya (That is the angle we are looking at. There is a possibility that the wiring’s insulator was damaged either due to its old age or may have been chewed on by some animals like a rat. The chewing may have caused an open wire, which can cause a short circuit),” he said.

Asked why the damage is that much, he said that the razed concrete building includes several rooms where classes are held for cooking, dressmaking, and housekeeping. (JCR)