Photo from Cabuyao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MANILA BULLETIN)
100 students hospitalized after Cabuyao school fire drill; classes cancelled
At a glance
LAGUNA – The local government unit (LGU) here suspended classes in Gulod National High School – Mamatid Extension on Friday, March 24, a day after over 100 students were hospitalized for passing out or experiencing lightheadedness amid an afternoon school fire drill.
“Kaninang tanghali, mga alas dose nagsimula ang drill, ang 3,000 estudyante o humigit-kumulang 3,000 estudyante ay pinapasok sa classroom. At doon ay, sila’y nagsiksikan sa kabila nang init nang panahon na ang ating temperatura ay umaabot nang, naga-average nang 36 to 43 (This afternoon, the drill started at around 12:00 p.m., more or less 3,000 students were sent to a classroom. They were crammed inside amid the hot temperature with an average of 36 to 43 degrees Celsius),” Mayor Dennis Hain said in a Facebook live stream on March 23.
Hain said the students waited inside the jampacked classroom for around three hours without access to water or food. After this, students were reportedly asked to go out into the open field where they stayed under the afternoon sun for around 30 minutes.
“Doon ho ay may ilang mga estudyante na na nagrereklamo, at nanghihingi ng tubig ay hindi po napagbigyan sapagkat ang mga scout po ang nagma-manage, so siguro ay hindi rin abot ng kanilang kaisipan dahil mga bata rin sila (There, some students who complained and asked for water but were not given any because scouts were managing the students, so they probably did not understand because they are also young),” the mayor said.
“Meron nang inabot na doon ng pagkahilo at talagang nawalan nang malay, ang ilan po ay nagsi-seizure (Some got dizzy and lost consciousness, some had a seizure).”
Cabuyao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) responded to the incident and took 104 students to Cabuyao City Hospital and Ospital ng Cabuyao to receive medical attention.
According to Hain, doctors said many of the patients were dehydrated or experienced hypoglycemia.
Most of the students were sent home a few hours after recovering in the hospital, but the LGU is monitoring three students, including one who had a seizure due to a comorbidity.
In a Facebook post, the CDRRMO reminded school administrators to coordinate with the LGU first before conducting any drill to make sure that they are properly oriented about safety guidelines.