BACOLOD City – Fire completely gutted the main school building of Colegio De Sta. Rita in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on Monday night, leaving more than P18 million in damage.
Fire Chief Inspector Rufino Rufino Tañedo Jr., Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) San Carlos City fire marshal, said they received the fire call past 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 14.
The school’s security guard told arson investigators that the building suffered a power outage before the fire, and he heard an explosion.
The BFP has yet to verify if the explosion could be attributed to the fire.
A few minutes later, the guard claimed he saw smoke coming out of the second floor of the building located near the Treasurer’s Office.
The guard immediately told the college’s nuns, who contacted the BFP.
Tañedo said the college’s gate was too small for the firetrucks to enter, which caused difficulty in responding. Their assets utilized the rear entrance.
The fire reached third alarm status, and BFP units in neighboring Toboso, Calatrava, Escalante City, and Don Salvador Benedicto aided.
A BFP unit from the town of Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental also responded.
A “fire out” was declared around 12:11 a.m. yesterday.
Arson investigators have yet to determine what exactly caused the blaze.
In a separate interview over the radio, School Registrar Sr. Damiana De Tafalla A.R. said 800 students were affected. They were forced to temporarily suspend senior high school and college classes.
The college institution is run by nuns of the Augustinian Recollect Congregation.
Sr. Tafalla said they are holding meetings with school officials to discuss options on how to hold classes for the affected students.
She also stated that the building was undergoing renovation at the time of the fire.
Since the building was insured, she added, it is possible that the main building would be demolished instead and a new one would be constructed.
The San Carlos city government is also looking to assist the in-house scholars affected by the blaze.
City Disaster Risk Reduction Management officer Joe Alingasa said they are waiting for the BFP’s final report.
“It has long been the city’s mighty edifice. It resembled a great institution of quality Christian education that shaped thousands of lives,” said San Carlos City’s Mayor Renato Gustilo, who also went to the area after hearing news of the blaze.
The building may have fallen, but he added that the values and teachings of those who passionately impart their knowledge to every student who seeks to learn and wants to build a better future remain its true foundation. (Watchmen Daily Journal)
