THE Bureau of Fire Protection-Davao Region (BFP-Davao), revealed on Sunday morning, September 24, 2023, that the 10-hour blaze that left P13 million worth of damage to a warehouse containing construction materials may be due to decade-old wiring materials or poor ventilation.
Senior Officer Ramil Gallido, Davao City Fire District (DCFD) Intelligence and Investigation Section chief, told SunStar Davao that they are now looking at two possible angles that razed the almost four-decade-old warehouse building along Sobrecarey Street, Barrio Obrero, Barangay 14-B last September 22.
“Duha kabook nga angle ang atoang ginalantaw karon. Una is ang electric cables nila. Karon gina-follow up nato na considering nga since 1989 pa ang ang establishment natukod ug posible nga daan ang wirings. Kung walay rewiring nga nahitabo, posible gyud nga sa kuryente na gikan [ang sunog] (We are looking at two different angles now. First is their electric cables. Now we are following that up considering that the establishment was established in 1989 and it is possible that the wirings are old. If there was no rewiring, it's possible that [the fire] was caused by electricity) he said.
The official also added that another possible cause could be the quality and improper ventilation, resulting in the cans of paint inside the building to overheat.
“Naay mga pintura ug construction chemicals nga posible maoy hinungdan sa sunog. Ang pintura man gud naay [flammable] chemical which is kung muinit, maka-trigger og explosion (There are cans of paint and construction chemicals that may have caused the fire. The paint also has a [flammable] chemical which could trigger an explosion),” he added.
He also said that as per the initial investigation, there were no nearby houses damaged because of the firewall in the building.
To recall, the BFP declared a fire out at 4:24 a.m. while the clearing operation was conducted at 12 noon on the same day.
As of press time, the BFP-Davao has yet to reveal the result of their final investigation in Wednesday’s AFP-PNP Press Conference this September 27, this year due to the agency’s continuous rotation of positions and officials. DEF