A total of 112 students from the Gulod National High School Mamatid Extension in Cabuyao, Laguna were rushed to different hospitals after fainting due to dizziness when they attended a fire drill in their school campus.
Because of this, Cabuyao Mayor Dennis Hain ordered the suspension of all fire drills in the city.
“Some had comorbidities. Natakot din ako kasi yung iba nanginginig. Tumitirik ang mata,” he said in a TeleRadyo interview.
Hain said that at around 2 p.m., about 3,000 students were first ordered to stay in a classroom during the drill and then brought out into the school’s open field where they stayed under the sun for several minutes, at a time when temperatures were recorded to be between 36 and 43 degrees Celsius.
He said the fire drill was not coordinated with the local authorities and some of the affected students had comorbidities and chills.
For now, the mayor said all school fire drills are suspended and that a meeting will be held with school principals in the city to avoid a repeat of the incident.
It was learned that the fire drill at Gulod National High School Mamatid Extension was the second one conducted, based on a Department of Education memo. (Philip Reyes)
