MORE than one hundred students were affected by the four-hour fire that gutted the TESDA Building of the Luciano Millan Memorial School of arts and Trades (LMMSAT) in Asingan town, Tuesday night, July 4.

Fire broke out at past seven in the evening, and was declared under control after three hours later and declared fire-out at 11:07 PM.

In an initial interview over Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan, Mayor Carlos Lopez Jr. said the fire started in the cookery department where an LPG tank and stove were not turned off.

Successive explosions were heard that led to the fire spreading quickly.

Fire trucks from nearby towns and Urdaneta City rushed to extinguish the fire.

Fire Inspector Wilfredo Nardo of the Bureau of Fire Protection – Asingan, said among the damaged areas were the Cookery, Food Processing, Trainer’s Methodology, Bread and Pastry, Organic Agriculture, and Driving NCII.

Nardo said the estimated total damages reached P41 million, out of which P8.9 million were from structural damage, while the rest are attributed to lost and damaged equipment and instruments.

TESDA Asingan Vocational School Administrator III Jesus Salagubang said out of the 14 rooms, eight were totally damaged, and three were no longer safe for holding classes.

Salangubang added the building is 51-years old, built in 1972.

Meanwhile, Salagubang had a meeting with TESDA Pangasinan Provincial Director Emely Tesoro and TESDA Regional Director Joel Pilotin to assess the impact of the damage on the curriculum.

The hundreds of students affected will temporarily resume their classes at the TESDA Building at the Rosales Training Center. (Ahikam Pasion)

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