Fire officials are still investigating what caused the blaze in the ship and the extent of the damage.
A company lawyer said the ship was undergoing renovation when it caught fire. It was to be dry docked at the Keppel Cebu Shipyard in Lapu-Lapu City.
But since Keppel couldn’t accommodate the ship yet, the contractor for the renovation proceeded with his job while the vessel was docked at Pier 7.
SFO4 Jose M. Laurito, chief fire investigator, said they received the alarm at 10:43 a.m. and contained the fire at noon.
Laurito said they had to connect about seven fire hoses to reach the blaze. Firemen from the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard arrived but their equipment had low pressure.
Laurito said that about 30 American soldiers who are part of visiting US Navy joined in fighting the fire, using fireboats equipped with portable pumps that sucked seawater.
The fire caused almost an hour’s delay of the rest and recreation of the American sailors from the USS Blue Ridge.
Help
Their command ship, anchored off the South Reclamation Project, was about 5.7 kilometers from the fire scene.
A ferry brings the soldiers to and from the ship via Pier 6 at the Cebu International Port. Since the fire was at Pier 7, vessels were not allowed to approach the vicinity.
About three ferries bearing the American sailors were ready to leave for Pier 6 but they had to wait before they were cleared to approach the port.
Public Affairs Officer Greg Kuntz of the USS Blue Ridge said the ship offered to help the fire fighters.
Laurito said initial investigation showed negligence on the part of some welders doing repair works on the ship. They failed to cover the decks with protective foam that would have absorbed sparks.
Dr. Emmanuel Labella of the Bureau of Quarantine inspected the vessel and found the ship’s bridge and decks damaged.
The ship is dubbed “vessel of the poor” because it offered the lowest fare among all ships plying the Cebu-Manila route, said lawyer Francisco Mijares, Gothong company’s lawyer.
MV Manila Bay I charged only P770. Other vessels collect P1,700 to P1,900 per trip, said Mijares.
Mijares said that had the vessel not caught fire, it would have taken only one week for Keepel to fix the hulls. With the damage caused by the fire, it will take six months to repair the ship, Mijares said.
Tres de Abril
The fire in Labangon, meanwhile, took place along Tres de Abril St.
One of the houses burned was owned by Roger Ogabang, a technician of dyMF-Bombo Radyo Cebu.
Fire Chief Investigator Allan Arciaga initially pegged the damage to property at P50,000.
SFO3 Felix Romero learned from a witness that before the incident, two children were seen playing with fire inside the house of Victoria Manalili.
Manalili, a teacher, had already left for work when the fire started.
Firemen received the alarm at 9:02 a.m. They controlled the fire in five minutes.
The fire took place a few meters away from the National Police Commission regional office and the Salazar Institute of Technology.
