Investigation on Plaza Fair Debris up for NBI analysis to establish cause of fire

Fire investigators of the Cebu City Bureau of Fire Protection retrieved pieces of debris from the burnt Plaza Fair along Colon Street to be submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation for analysis.

The investigation will be focused on how the fire started and the possibility of arson behind the incident that resulted to damage of property placed at P20 million.

Senior Fire Officer 3 Allen Arciaga told The FREEMAN that his team retrieved burnt debris and ashes from the fourth floor where the fire reportedly started.

The NBI will conduct their analysis on these and the result will be used as the basis for further investigation by the fire bureau, Arciaga said.

Basing on the NBI findings, the fire origin can be determined if there was possible arson behind or just real freak accident, the investigator added.

In yesterday's investigation at the fire scene, fire investigators found the totally burned circuit breaker and debris around it. Initial findings showed that the said device tripped off.

Arciaga believes that an electrical short circuit occurred that caused the circuit breaker to trip off, but did not say if the fire may have been caused by the said electrical problem.

"Naay trip-off ang ilang circuit breaker, possibly duna'y short circuit pero ato pa ning subayunon," Arciaga said.

Among the pieces the investigators are looking into are devices that may have been used if there was indeed an arson motive in the incident, the official said.

They said devices are called "plant and trailer." These devices are commonly used by an arsonist. The "plant" is a mechanical device that will trigger the start of a spark or electrical current that will burn the trailer or the accelerant that is commonly made of gasoline or other flammable fluids and solids to start a fire, Arciaga explained.

So far, investigators did not find any of these arsonist devices as of yesterday's fire scene investigation.

The fire department is set to invite Danny Patalinghug, the store manager, four stay-in workers, and two security guards to give their statements on the incident.

Arciaga will also invite the consultant of the said store to see the financial status of the firm.

The store's second, third and fourth floors were burned including its contents. - Edwin Ian Melecio