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Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Atlas admin bldg. goes up in smoke
THE administration building of Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. (ACMDC) in Toledo City was burned down yesterday, causing damage placed at P4 million.
Inspector Randy Men-daros, Toledo City fire marshal, told Sun.Star that the blaze started at 12:15 p.m. and was controlled about an hour later.
Nobody was hurt.
Mendaros said a loud explosion inside the office of ACMDC resident manager Rodrigo Cal preceded the fire. The office was reportedly hit by lightning.
Cal could not be contacted for comment.
Labor woes
ACMDC has a lightning arrester but this has been left idle since the company in Barangay DAS ceased operation in 1994 due to labor problems and low price of copper in the world market.
The administration building was put up in the 1950s when the group of the late Don Andres Soriano started mining operations. Lutopan is now renamed Barangay Don Andres Soriano or DAS.
Mendaros said the building underwent several renovations through the years.
Aside from Cal’s office, Mendaros said the building also housed the accounting division that held records of employment and benefits of ACMDC personnel, mostly separated from Atlas already.
Other records
The accounting department also kept other records such as contracts, agreements and billings, among others, which were also burned during the fire.
Atlas is reportedly set to resume operations next year.
The Toledo City fire station has one small fire truck in Barangay DAS that responded to the alarm in three minutes but failed to control the fire when it ran out of water.
The bigger fire trucks were assigned at the city proper and arrived at the scene in 25 minutes.
Mendaros failed to give more details about the fire because his mobile phone ran out of battery during the interview. (EOB)
(December 28, 2004 issue)
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