THREE fires struck in Cebu last Monday, including the accident involving a two-storey commercial building in Mandaue City.
The firefighting on YY & Company in Barangay Bakilid, Mandaue City lasted almost two hours.
SFO3 Roy Garcia of the Mandaue City Fire Department said alarm was tapped at 12:05 a.m. and was raised to Task Force Alpha.
Fire brigades from the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu and Consolacion town helped in putting out the blaze, and declared the fire under control after 20 minutes.
By then, however, the fire damaged the front part of the establishment, which the fire department pegged the damage at P600,000.
Heavy equipment, such as trucks that the company sells were saved since these were placed at the back of the building, Garcia said.
According to the initial investigation of the Mandaue Fire Department, fire started on the second floor of the building, particularly in the kitchen area.
Except for a security guard, no other person was reportedly inside the building.
Garcia said an investigation is still being conducted to find out the cause of the fire, but he is not discounting the possibility that electrical misuse may have triggered the fire.
“Gidudahan nila ang refrigerator sa kusina mao’y nibuto (They suspected the fridge exploded),” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
During the operation, firefighters could have put out the flames quicker if they were able to enter at the back, Garcia said.
“Wala dayon mi ka penetrate kay lisod ablihon ang gate (We could not get in immediately because the gate was hard to open),” he said.
Earlier, a fire gutted a house and damaged another one in Barangay Suba, Samboan past 11 a.m.
SFO2 Molilito Leceña, the investigator handling the accident, said that the fire started in the bedroom of Juanito Roda Jr.
Some witnesses claimed that the five-year-old son of Roda was allegedly seen playing matches before the fire broke out.
Because the house was made of light materials, the fire quickly destroyed the house and spread into the house of Roda’s parents. The damage was pegged at P35,000.
Meanwhile, a house was also razed in a fire in Barangay Suba, Danao City last Monday morning.
Police said the fire happened at 6:50 a.m. in the house of Garry Trinidad and damaged P100,000 worth of property. Electrical misuse was eyed as the cause of the fire.