

SOME P7 million worth of grocery goods were destroyed in a fire that razed a warehouse in Zamboanga City, an official said Friday, October 3.
Superintendent Leo Pioquinto, Zamboanga City Fire District (ZCFD) marshal, said the fire broke out around 5:34 p.m. Thursday, October 2, at Maria Camins compound in Sta. Catalina village.
He said nine fire trucks responded to the alarm, supported by water tankers from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Zamboanga City Water District.
The blaze, which reached second alarm, was declared out at 6:23 p.m. Pioquinto said investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire, which gutted the warehouse owned by Edgar Madrazo and leased to two tenants.
The incident came just 17 hours after a pre-dawn fire destroyed about P9 million worth of properties along Estrada Street in Tetuan village.
That fire, which lasted for about three hours, broke out in one of the affected houses around 12:31 a.m. Thursday. It reached second alarm before being extinguished at 3:21 a.m.
Authorities said 14 houses were affected, with 10 totally destroyed and four partially damaged, displacing 23 families or 78 individuals.
Pioquinto reminded the public to exercise extra caution to prevent similar incidents in their communities. (SunStar Zamboanga)