THE inter-agency Anti-Arson Task Force, the body formed to investigate the NCCC fire is gathering documents to point who could be accountable for the damages.
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) spokesperson Fire Superintendent Jerry Candido, in an interview Saturday, said that they could not yet provide update on the legal charges to be filed against the mall owners as they have yet to accumulate all documents before they could name names.
“We cannot name them yet and publicly announce the liability of the person here. We will announce kung sino ang dapat kasuhan soon,” he assured.
He underscored there is apparent violation on the Fire Code of the Philippines on the part of the NCCC Mall management particularly the feature of their fire exit.
Based on their investigation, the fire exit that was supposed to be the trapped victim’s gateway to safer ground was not used as thick smoke seeped into it and intense heat has entered inside making the employees on the fourth floor unable to pass through.
The fire exits, he said, must be smoke-proof, has a self-closing system and totally enclosed especially if it is inside the building so the smoke from the fire will not go inside.
Candido said that they have already completed the processing of the fire scene.
They are discussing whether to turnover it to the mall owners so they could attend the needs of their tenants.
The search and retrieval operation ended last Thursday after authorities found the last remaining body identified as Alexandra Moreno, SSI Quality Assurance Supervisor.
Their investigation is almost over and they have come up with the cause of the fire which is electrical short circuit.
They also recommended to the mall management the demolition of the structure because of its instability and it is could be dangerous when there is an earthquake.