Manaoag school hit by fire during school opening
MANAOAG –-While public schools in the province were busy welcoming pupils to their classrooms, the pupils of Pao Elementary School were not as lucky.
Six of their classrooms, their Library and Guidance Counsel rooms were gutted by fire Monday late afternoon.
Cristina Camba, school principal who assumed her post on the first day of the new school year, said the pupils were excited to do something different after the summer vacation only to be disappointed that they cannot return to their classrooms on their second day.
Burned were two classrooms for each Grades 4, 5 and 6.
She said no one was hurt as pupils and teachers had already left for home when the fire broke at around 5:30 p.m.
The fire was reported to the firemen 15 minutes later. It was declared fire out at around 6:10 p.m.
She said they have yet to make an inventory of the school records that were lost and saved in the Guidance Counsel office and the library.
The classrooms built in 1994 have been due for repairs, Camba said.
Classes resumed Tuesday but Grades 4, 5 and 6 students had to be accommodated in the classrooms of lower Grades on a shifting basis.
Camba said they will temporarily use the school covered court as classrooms of affected pupils pending rehabilitation of the burned classrooms.
The school has 511 student population.
She appealed to concerned citizens and government officials for help.
Rep. De Venecia meets with DepEd and DPWH executives, to discuss rehabilitation of the burnt classrooms. (Punchpohto by Eva Visperas)
On Tuesday, local officials with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Public Works and Highways met with DepEd Regional Director Alma Ruby Torio, Pangasinan 4th District Rep. Christopher de Venecia, Manaoag Mayor Kim Amador, Fourth District Board Member Jeremy Agerico Rosario to discuss the speedy construction of new classrooms to replace the burnt building.
She said the DepEd Central Office has its Quick Response Fund but is only good for one-storey building and the preferred option is a two-storey building due to space limitation. (Eva Visperas)
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