4ID rules out sabotage in ammo dump fire

THE 4th Infantry Division (4ID) ruled out sabotage in the fire incident that destroyed the ammunition dump depot in Camp Edilberto Evangelista, Barangay Patag on Tuesday, July 12, 2022.

The lock [in the doors] are intact. Meaning nobody tampered with the lock," Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Sta. Maria, 10th Forward Service Support Unit commander of the 4ID, said during the press conference on Tuesday.

Sta. Maria added that the ammunition storage faciltiy has an updated fire safety inspection certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) dated March 22, 2022.

He said each magazine in the ammo complex were inspected by the BFP to ensure that their facilities are safe.

"Our ammo depot is a standard ammunition storage facility. It follows a rigid and strict protocol on the structure itself, and the people assigned to it are trained and experts," Major General Mamawag, the 4ID commander, said.

"Even me, as the commander, cannot enter the facility without the official approval of the command people," he added.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and investigation has yet to start as the site is still in its soaking and cooling stage.

The 4ID created its own board of inquiry composed of army officials and other civilian stakeholders.

Mamawag invited officials from Barangay Patag and representatives from the City Government to join the investigation, which is set to begin this week.

The police's Scene of the Crime Operation and the Bureau of Fire Protection will also be conducting their own probes.

The fire incident that broke out around 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday has caused an estimated damage of worth P27.7 million, according to the 4ID.

Three civilians have gotten minor injuries during the incident. They were identified as Reynald Quirweca, 45; Curt Angelo Cuizon, 15; and Acolbay Escalante, 22. They were immediately brought and treated at the Camp Evangelista Station Hospital. They were discharged on Tuesday.

There was no recorded casualty among the military personnel.

A total of 61 families or 327 individuals, residing near the facility, evacuated and were given assistance by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Northern Mindanao.

Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner, the commanding general of the Philippine Army, for his part, said that the fire incident in Camp Evangelista is not isolated.

He added that military facilities in other countries have also experienced the burning of their ammunition storage facilities without external threats.

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