A fire broke out at the south wing of La Consolacion College-Bacolod along Gatuslao Street last night, December 2,but thankfully the fire was extinguished in about 5 minutes with the help of the sprinkler system and the bravery of the school electrician.
In a Facebook post, LCC said that Jerry Pabilona, the school electrician, was on his way to the college building to complete his routine end-of-day inspection last night, when he saw something burning at the south end of Gatuslao Wing. Most offices were already closed when the fire broke.
Sensing danger, he immediately pressed the nearest fire alarm button to alert the few remaining teachers in one of the faculty rooms on the floor and ran to the electrical breaker box. He then grabbed the fire extinguisher and confronted the fire that had already engulfed an entire wall panel, big enough to trigger the sprinkler system, according to LCC’s statement.
Bacolod City Fire Chief Inspector Publio Plotefia said the fire emanated from the wiring of a router that sparked.
The school praised Jerry for his alertness and quick action which saved the campus from being on fire. Determined to prevent the spread of fire, Jerry picked up the extinguisher to try his best to avoid the spread to the 75-year old Auditorium connecting Gatuslao Wing, the school said.
Jerry, 29, knew that excessive inhalation of hazardous smoke from burning electrical wirings could weaken him. Dripping wet, he rushed to ask that someone make a fire call.
Joint-teams of firefighters from the Bacolod Bureau of Fire Protection, the Chinese Chamber Fire Volunteer Brigade and the Amity Fire Brigade quickly responded to the call, but when they arrived, the fire was already put out. It left P500 worth of damage.
