Fire razes private school

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  - All the 10 classrooms of the Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Pulupandan town in Negros Occidental were gutted down by a fire that hit the school building at around 6 p.m. Thursday, Mayor Magdaleno Peña said.

Fr. Tomas Rito, Pulupandan parish priest, said the fire struck the school's two-storey building with eight classrooms, the office of the principal, faculty room, and two other classrooms behind the church.

The only structures spared were the computer room and library, Rito said.

A newly-installed fire hydrant in front of the municipal hall saved the adjacent Roman Catholic Church from being affected, Peña said.

The buildings of the academy, built in 1953 along Riego Street, were swiftly eaten up by the blaze as they were made of wood, he said.

The mayor said he is offering the newly-built Pulupandan auditorium as temporary site for the 430 students to hold classes.

The fire was suspected to have come from the shack of the school watchman, Mamerto Ybañez, who allegedly had gone out to drink and may have left something lighted and unattended, Peña said. (FREEMAN)