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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Capitol blaze guts 6 buildings
By Mia E. Abellana With Jeanette P. Malinao
CEBU CITY -- Six buildings within the Capitol compound went up in smoke while one was damaged after a fire broke out at dawn Tuesday.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Central Visayas Deputy Regional Director for Operations Aderson Comar, blamed Cebu City Fire Marshal Ismael Codilla for the extent of the damage, saying Codilla left the operation while the fire was still growing.
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"Palpak man ilang operation. Mismanaged kaayo (Their operation was a flop. It was very mismanaged)," Comar told Sun.Star Cebu.
Codilla could not be reached for comment as of press time. However, radio dyLA quoted him as saying that he was willing to answer any query thrown at him.
Comar said Codilla declared the blaze under control just minutes after the alarm was sounded but did not notice that the blaze was spreading to another building.
The fire department received the alarm at 1:27 a.m.
Codilla declared the blaze under control 15 minutes after.
No commander
Comar said when he arrived at about 1:45 a.m., he did not see any official from the Cebu City Fire Department.
Codilla, however, said there were reporters who could attest that he was at the fire scene Tuesday. He added that after he left, he continued to monitor the developments in his office.
The fire began at the ceiling of the Civil Security Unit and then spread to the newly renovated Cebu Court of First Instance (CFI) Community Cooperative building.
The blaze also razed the buildings of the Vice Mayors' League, Provincial Disaster and Coordinating Council, the General Services Office warehouse and the old Philippine Information Agency building.
It also damaged the building of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, a Nissan Terrano assigned to Capitol consultant Byron Garcia, his personal Starex van, a service van of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) and a Fuso Canter.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although fire officials are looking into the possibility of an electrical short circuit.
Comar said when he arrived, he had to direct firefighters who were at the scene.
'Not arson'
Retired judge Esperanza Garcia, president of the Cebu CFI Cooperative, also said she wondered why the firemen left the scene when the buildings were still covered in smoke. A few minutes later, she said the fire rekindled at the back portion of the buildings.
"I hope there will be a proper investigation that will be conducted and I will be very, very interested to know the result considering the serious lapse that resulted in dire consequences. I call on the bureau to investigate and accurate, truthful results will be much appreciated," Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, the judge's daughter, told reporters.
Byron said they already ruled out arson or stray fireworks for the blaze.
The damage to the CFI was estimated to be between P8 and P10 million, including building and stocks. These, though, were insured.
Byron said the CSU lost office equipment like five personal computers, two laptops and a photocopier with scanner, among others. Six security cameras and a server, as well as firearms like 50 unserviceable shotguns that they were repairing, six .38 handguns of the security agency and his 9 mm were also lost to the blaze.
Intelligence
Other items lost include documents "about Calvin Tan, left-wing organizations and other evidence gathered on intelligence information."
Government Systems Insurance Services President and General Manager Winston Garcia already asked his office to help the Capitol in the processing of its insurance claims on the CSU building and the service vehicle, which could reach to P4.3 million.
Damage was placed at P5 million, although Codilla plans to raise the official amount to P12 million.
A fire is declared under control if the fire marshal sees that they have done everything they can to prevent the blaze from spreading to other structures.
Comar said this did not happen because after the fire was declared under control, it continued to go beyond the CFI building.
At 4 p.m., firefighters were still standing by in case the embers burst into flames again.
A fire substation used to be located in the compound, but Comar said they closed it after the station's lone truck was damaged some years ago.
Loan papers
The first truck to arrive came from the Guadalupe fire substation.
The fire was placed under the third alarm.
All available units from Cebu City were sent while volunteers from the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade responded to the alarm.
Esperanza Garcia also assured that business will go on as usual for the Cebu CFI Cooperative, saying the records remained intact.
This was in response to speculation that the loans of its 25,000 members across the Visayas were wiped out by the fire that gutted their building.
Byron Garcia, for his part, also said the security cameras placed in the Capitol compound will help them with their investigation on the cause of the fire. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (December 27, 2006 issue)
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