Fire hits Metrobank building, prompts vigilance reminder
CEBU, Philippines - Properties worth P100,000 were destroyed Friday night after a fire broke out in the stockroom of the Department of Energy (DOE) office at the 11th floor of the Metrobank building near the Fuente Osmeña rotunda.
The Cebu City Fire Department received the alarm at 11:25 p.m. and managed to control the blaze in 10 minutes, preventing it from spreading to other floors.
Senior Fire Officer 1 Daniel Relatado said they initially had a hard time penetrating the building because of the thick smoke.
He said different establishments and offices occupy each floor of the 20-story building but there were no tenants at the time when the fire, which was raised to a second alarm, happened.
Relatado said they still have to determine what caused the fire and find out what were the items inside the storage room.
With this, City Fire Marshall Rogelio Bongabong reiterated the call for the public to be extra cautious against fire this holiday season when people buy and keep firecrackers in their homes.
He further called on the public to carefully install electrical wirings since this is the most common cause of fire.
He added that electrical appliances, both in houses and in offices, should be unplugged when not in use. (FREEMAN)
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