Tuesday, May 06, 2008 Fire started from outside: Capitol
CAPITOL disputes an investigator’s claim that the fire that hit a portion of the Cebu Provincial Legislative Building was due to faulty electrical wiring.
“The fire did not start at the conduit of electrical connection but started from the outside,” lawyer Rory John Sepulveda, Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation, told reporters yesterday.
Capitol formed a committee to investigate the noon fire that destroyed the second floor fire exit of the legislative building last Sunday.
The committee was headed by Provincial Administrator Eduardo Habin with Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre, Provincial Attorney Marino Martinquilla and Capitol consultant on security Byron Garcia as members.
Sepulvida said the investigating panel found out that the fire started from the outside, which means that it was not caused by electrical short circuit.
The consultant showed reporters photos of the damaged pipe chest where utility connections are located.
Sepulveda explained that the door was completely burned, as well as some wood from outside the conduit, an indicator that the fire came from the outside. The soot on the PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes, indicate the same thing. If the fire came from inside, only the pipes should have been burned.
Habin’s team is yet to conclude the cause of fire. But Sepulveda challenged the fire investigator, FO3 Antonio Gonzales, who blamed the three-minute blaze on electrical wiring, to shed light on his findings.
The investigating panel will also interview the people who saw the fire first and the security guards that immediately responded to the alarm.
Capitol will also look into the people responsible for leaving light materials outside the fire exit.
Damage was pegged at P10,000.
When asked who will shoulder the expenses of fixing the damaged pipe chest, Sepulveda said that it will be up to the panel when they determine who was responsible for the fire. (JGA)
