LPG regulator explodes in Pardo school's food lab

A substandard regulator of a liquefied petroleum gas tank suddenly burst with a forceful boom that shook a cooking class inside the food laboratory of the Holy Rosary School in Pardo yesterday morning.

Nobody got hurt anyway but the booming impact of the regulator's burst drove the students into panic and prompted school officials to call the fire department at 8:30 a.m.

The Holy Rosary School is located in front of the Pardo Fire substation and the Pardo Police station, and firefighters responded to the alarm with four fire trucks.

City Fire investigator, SFO2 Felix Romero, estimated the damages that the LPG burst had caused at only P1000.

Cooking class in-charge Mrs. Dalia Matias told fire investigators that she switched on the LPG regulator before starting a cooking demonstration with her high school students.

"Maayo na lang gani nga wala pa makasud ang mga students sa food lab... Suwerte lang kay wala pa gi-ablihan ang burner, dilikado unta kaayo," Romero said, adding that the regulator failed to control the pressure coming from the LPG tank.

Romero however found that the busted LPG regulator was substandard. "...morag tag P50 ra man tingali ni. Kun quality pa unta nga regulator dili gyud ni mobuto kay ang mga substandard dili man makasugakod sa pressure sa LPG," Romero said.

City fire marshall Esmael Codilla, who was also at the scene, told school authorities to check their LPG regulators first and make sure they are not of substandard quality.

"Ang importante nga safe ta. Kinahanglang mogamit gyud ug mga nakapasar sa Bureau of Standards, bahala og mahal," said Codilla adding that the fire department would ask the Department of Trade and Industry to check on stores selling substandard products.

The LPG regulator burst was a lesson to Holy Rosary School authorities that vowed never to use substandard regulators anymore. "We will check lahat ng mga LPG regulators natin and hindi na gagamit yon mga substandard," said Sr. Anastacia Pagulayan, school principal. - Ramil V. Ayuman/RAE