Fire destroys 2 school buildings in Negros Occidental town

BACOLOD CITY—A fire of unknown origin destroyed school buildings in Pulupandan town, Negros Occidental, past 6 p.m. Thursday.

The blaze gutted down a two-story building with eight classrooms and two other classrooms in a separate building of the Our Lady of Lourdes Academy along Riego Street in Pulupandan, about 31.1 kilometers south of this city.

The two-story building, which was built in 1953, also housed the office of the principal and a faculty room, said Fr. Tomas Rito, Pulupandan parish priest.

He said the only structures left were their computer room and library.

The fire was believed to have started from the shack of Mamerto Ybañez, caretaker the Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, who allegedly went out to drink.

“The explosion of what sounded like pyrotechnics could be heard coming from the shack when the fire broke out,” said Mayor Magdaleno Peña.

He said the fire quickly ate the school buildings which were made of wood.

The fire reached the back of the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church but it was put out by firefighters who were able to refill their fire truck tanks  from a fire hydrant of the Pulupandan Water District,  about 50 meters away, which was inaugurated only last week.

Peña said he was offering the newly-built Pulupandan auditorium as a temporary site for the 430 high school students to hold classes.

Fr. Rito said he welcomed the offer of the mayor to use the newly-built town auditorium for temporary classrooms.

The semestral break would give them time to make arrangements on where temporary classes could be held.