MANILA — A fire gutted the Paco Catholic School in this city over the weekend.

The Bureau of Fire Protection reported that the fire broke out at 8 p.m. on Saturday (20 April 2024) near the Paco Market.

It quickly spread to other establishments made of light materials, prompting the BFP to raise the second alarm at 8:09 p.m.

The fire continued to rage and reached the fifth alarm.

Some areas of the SPC Building of the school were affected, according to a Facebook post of the school.

The school said that it will shift to online classes starting Tuesday until further notice.

“Please also be informed that PCS has not released any solicitation relative to this incident. We ask each one to continue to include the PCS Community in your prayers and to verify any information with the school authorities to avoid any confusion and misinformation,” it said.

Firemen were able to put the fire under control as of 10:28 p.m. The BFP declared fire out at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (21 April 2024).

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire as of this posting.