Fire of still unknown cause razed a 9-classroom school building of the Mabinay Municipal High School in Mabinay, Negros Oriental, at about 1 a.m. Tuesday.

No one was reported injured in the fire that lasted for about half an hour, but investigators pegged the damage at P6 to P7 million, SFO4 Seferino Otod of the Provincial Fire Marshall’s Office, said.

An initial report showed that at about 1 a.m., Jesus Cadiente called the Mabinay Fire Station, saying that fire had broken out at the Mabinay Municipal High School.

Two fire trucks and their crew dispatched to the scene found the building halfway engulfed by flames, Otod said.

Two other fire trucks and firefighters from Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental also responded and helped put out the blaze that destroyed several computers and other equipment, and the decades-old government building owned by the Department of Education.

The burned building had housed the library, principal’s office, computer rooms and classrooms.

Fire probers said initial investigation showed the fire had started in one of the computer rooms at the center of the building, Otod said.

The cause of the investigation is still being determined, but it appears that the fire could be linked to the old electrical system of the building.

Firemen declared the fire out at around 1:30 a.m.

The Mabinay fire incident took place as the Bureau of Fire Protection in Negros Oriental is set to end the month-long activity in celebration of March as Fire Prevention Month.*JFP

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