Resto loses P10,000 to fire

A FIRE occurred inside a fastfood restaurant on Plaridel St. in Barangay Sto. Niño, Cebu City yesterday morning but only the manager’s office was damaged.

Firefighters put the fire under control in three minutes as they had no problems reaching the area.

They estimated the damage to the Mang Inasal outlet at P10,000.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7, which received the alarm at 8:21 a.m., revealed that the fire began in the restaurant manager’s office and was caused by a circuit breaker that exploded.

One BFP firetruck and an ambulance responded to the call. No one was reported hurt during the incident.

Sixth

The Mang Inasal outlet is located on the groundfloor of the Mercantile Occupancy building owned by Raymond Go.

The fire is the sixth incident recorded in Cebu City by the BFP 7 since the start of March, the fire prevention month.

The BFP 7 urged property owners to turn off and unplug electrical appliances when not in use.

Most fires, it said, are caused by electrical misuse.

Eugene Elizalde, presiding officer of the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC), stressed the role of barangay officials in preventing fires.

Checks

He said barangay officials could check the main switches and use of electricity of houses in their areas to determine if any can be considered fire-hazards.

He said barangay officials and homeowners should be proactive.

“Our problem is that we usually just react in cases of fire,” Elizalde told reporters yesterday.

PCAC launched Oplan Likay Sunog, which looks into areas that need to be reblocked to provide access to firefighting equipment.

Under the program, the City Fire Department will start with the most congested barangays in the City.

City Hall implemented reblocking in T. Padilla, Tejero and Carreta.

He said firefighters often have difficulty responding to fire alarms due to narrow roads.

The cities of Cebu, Talisay, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu will receive one firetruck each from the National Government, courtesy of Germany. These firetrucks are bigger but are expected to pass through the narrow roads of Cebu City.

Some residents are opposed to the reblocking as they may lose part of their homes to build new roads within their areas.