ON FIRE: Fire and rescue personnel preparing to battle the blaze. — Photo courtesy of Stowen Nelver Sikul
TAMPARULI: A building that housed the Sabah Adventist Secondary School’s assembly hall, tennis and badminton courts, library and science laboratory was yesterday gutted by fire.
Students and teachers in the building were immediately evacuated when smoke was seen pouring out of the assembly hall on the first floor of the two-storey building around 11am, according to chemistry teacher Ron Francis.
He said the assembly hall and courts on the first and second floors of the building were destroyed but the laboratory and the newly renovated library on the ground floor were not damaged.
Tuaran Fire Department chief Khairul Amir Pajar Ali led a team of personnel to the scene, after they were informed of the fire by their own personnel who happened to be on patrol near the area.
“We received the information at 11.03am and immediately dispatched three vehicles, including a fire engine, to the scene,” he said.
“We managed to put the fire under control by 11.30am and the operation ended by 12.58pm,” he said, adding that 10 personnel were involved in the operation.
No casualties were reported, and the cause of the fire and total loss had not been determined.
The building was constructed in the late 70s while the school was established in 1939, making it one of the oldest in Sabah.
The school currently has 264 Form One to Six students and 17 teachers.
Ron said police have advised the school to close for three days but they have yet to decide on the matter.