Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Fire office begins UB blaze probe
WITH damages estimated to cost around P70 million, investigators at the Baguio Fire Department are set to conduct an ocular inspection of the University of Baguio (UB) high school building, to determine what started the conflagration.
Fire investigator Bartolome Cacamo said they would explore all angles to determine the cause of the fire, including reports that it was started deliberately.
As far as the UB administration's compliance with fire safety standards is concerned, Cacamo said all buildings of the university met the requirements.
"We are looking at three angles: electrical, accidental and intentional," Cacamo said.
The blaze that started at 11 a.m. last Saturday was reported to be the largest conflagration in 20 years since the burning of the Baguio Country Club main building in 1990.
Baguio Fire Marshal Jovencio Marquez said a computer or automatic voltage regulator that overheated after it was left on overnight might have caused the fire.
The fire that started at the preparatory high school building also damaged the Dapayan theater, the adjacent 10-storey RCB building that houses the swimming pool, allied and medical departments, and the Hotel and Restaurant Management simulation laboratory.
Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas said fire trucks ran out of water just as winds started to whiff the flames into the adjoining Rosa C. Bautista building. The structure immediately caught flame and added to the woes of firefighters.
The Rosa C. Bautista building houses the nursing, dental and physical therapy departments of the school.
No one was seriously hurt in the three-hour fire although a number suffered respiratory distress due to the thick smoke coming from the blaze.
The school was founded by Fernando Bautista in 1948. It was originally called Baguio Technological School until it was raised to university status in 1960s.
Students holding their classes at the high school building, meanwhile, were advised to meet their teachers at the school's gym for further instructions last Monday. Lectures for nursing students has also been suspended, while instructors who hold classes at the burned buildings are not required to report, but were given instructions to proceed with their classes held in other buildings.
The Bautista clan that owns the school has yet to release an official estimate of the damages incurred during the incident.
Although the clan still needs to call for a meeting among its members, authorities said the fire might have cost the family close to P70 million.
The fire came at a time when the family made plans to construct a concrete structure to house its high school department. Sources said the new building costs about P80 million.
The pinewood from the burned high school building was supposed to be used for paneling of the new structure but the fire ended such plans. (RO/SB/MV)
