Fire hits Toledo City police & fire stations

A fire hit the building housing Toledo City's police station and fire station yesterday morning.

Toledo City chief fire investigator SFO2 Constancio Alcover Jr. revealed that the fire started inside the administrative office of the police station after a short circuit.

He said that shortly before the fire they noticed that the power was tripping and asked Cebu Electric Cooperative electrician James Bendoy to check it out. Bendoy used to be a former member of their rescue team before working at CEBECO.

The fire investigator said that Bendoy told him that low voltage was causing the tripping, no sooner had he told them this when they heard a series of small bursts not far from their location. He said that they ran towards the police station thinking it was being attacked before they saw the fire.

A computer, eight steel cabinets, four typewriters, an electric polisher, two electric fans, a ceiling fan, four wooden office tables, a steel table and all administrative/personnel records were destroyed by the fire that also damaged the adjacent office occupied by the Toledo City Fire Station.

Damage was estimated at P250,000. There were no reported deaths but the driver of the town's ambulance, Efren Abad, was injured in he left leg by jalousie splinters.

Firemen from the neighboring fire station in Balamban responded to the alarm but arrived when the fire was already under control. - Norvie S. Misa/BRP