KALIBO, Aklan – Fire swept through 12 classrooms at the Lezo Integrated School in Lezo, Aklan, about 9 kilometers west of this capital town.
No one was reported killed or injured.
Firefighters have yet to determine the full extent of the damage and the origin of the blaze as of this writing but placed an initial estimate of the cost at P6.4 million.
From what arson investigators have gathered so far, an electrical short circuit caused by a defective wall fan in the classroom of Grade 3 pupils might have caused the fire at around 8:45 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17.
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel from Kalibo, Numancia, Tangalan, Balete, and Ibajay rushed to the school after they were alerted by the Lezo police station.
Lezo does not have its own fire station. It remains under the jurisdiction of the BFP in Numancia.
The fire at the school along A. Cahilig Street, Barangay Poblacion, Lezo was raised to second alarm.
Aside from elementary classrooms, the blaze also engulfed a computer laboratory, the school library, a kindergarten classroom, and the principal’s office.
Seven fire trucks helped put out the fire. The blaze was placed under control at 11 p.m. A “fire out” was declared at 1 a.m. on Tuesday, said Fire Officer I Enrico Nam-ay of BFP-Numancia.
“Malakas ang hangin at masyadong mausok,” Nam-ay said. “Matagal na itong school sa Lezo ginawa, mixed materials, at ang kisame gawa sa kahoy.”
Lezo police station officers and emergency responders from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Numancia secured the area. (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
