2 schools razed in Parañaque fire

There were no classes for more than 2,000 students yesterday after a fire razed adjacent schools in Parañaque City the other night.

Arson investigators said the Parañaque Elementary Central School and the San Dionisio Elementary School were destroyed in the fire which started in one of the classrooms at 10:49 p.m.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Felipe Caguing said the two schools are located in one compound at the corner of Kabihasnan and Tramo streets in Barangay San Dionisio.

He said tables, chairs and books in several classrooms were destroyed in the blaze that reached Task Force Delta.

Classes at the two schools are expected to resume on Monday.

A total of 16 firetrucks from the city fire station and nearby municipalities were sent to the scene to help put out the blaze. A fire-out was declared at midnight.

Caguing said they have yet to determine the cause of the fire. No one was hurt in the incident.

School principal Cresencia Rosales said 2,136 students are enrolled at the two schools — 1,572 pupils at the Central School with 12 classrooms and 564 students at the San Dionisio School with 11 classrooms.

"Classes will resume on Monday. The students will have to be divided into batches and classes will be held in three shifts in classrooms that suffered minimal damage.

Rosales said there was a need to demolish the razed buildings and construct new ones.

"We are in the process of preparing a report of the incident to be submitted to the Department of Education and the Mayor’s Office," she said. Rosales said that based on the initial reports, faulty electrical wiring in one of the rooms caused the fire.