Fire guts two classrooms in Minglanilla high school

Two classrooms were destroyed while another was damaged by a fire that hit the Tubod National High School in barangay Tubod, Minglanilla town in southern Cebu at 10:45 p.m last Monday.

Insp. Demetrio Baring, chief of the Minglanilla fire station, said one classroom was already gutted by the time they arrived.

The fire was put out by Minglanilla firefighters at Tuesday midnight

“The road was too narrow for firetrucks to pass through and the path towards the school was not passable,” Baring said in Cebuano.

He said they were thankful that there was a vacant lot that allowed access to the fire scene.

He said their initial investigation showed that the fire was caused by a ceiling fan that overheated.

But Tubod National High School principal Delia de la Calzada said all ceiling fans were switched off when she left school last Monday afternoon.

The fire started at the room of Mrs. Rouella Basirgo, de la Calzada said.

“We already lack one room, now we lack three rooms,” she said in Cebuano.

Some teachers held classes on the stage and lobby the following day.

Students were advised by their teachers to bring chairs. De la Calzada said

She also learned from Grade 8 advisor Anna May Dejos that the fire also destroyed the report cards of their students.

Students and teachers altogether helped in cleaning the school after the fire incident.

Reymart Bayagma, a Grade 10 student, said the fire won’t stop him from attending classes.

The two classrooms, including the Supreme Student Governent (SSG) office were  considered to be the oldest structures of the school.

De la Calzada said they are asking help from the municipal government and the Department of Education (DepEd). Correspondent Joy Cherry S. Quito