Fire destroys 7 Danao offices

CEBU, Philippines - Seven Danao City government offices and the town police station were destroyed by a fire that left more than P6 million in structural and equipment damage past 9 p.m. last Saturday in Barangay Poblacion, Danao City.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Eduardo Rizaldo, fire investigator, said that the alarm was received at 9:10 p.m. and was declared under control 30 minutes after they arrived at the scene. But it took them until past 4 a.m. to completely put out the fire.

The arson investigator said that based on witnesses accounts there was an explosion at the second floor of the old City Hall building and smoke was seen billowing from the Parole and Probation Office.

After the explosion witnesses saw the fire quickly spread throughout the entire building, prompting policemen to evacuate their office located in the ground floor.

Police Office 2 Ronald Gomez, desk officer of the Danao Police Station said that the fire destroyed their records section, investigation section and operations section. He added that the 19 detainees at the police station were immediately evacuated when the fire hit the building and are all safe.

He said that some of their firearms and weapons were burned including several explosives.

Gomez said that the Danao City Fire Station first responded to the fire alarm that was immediately raised to general alarm. Personnel from the fire stations of Carmen, Compostela and Liloan also responded.

PO2 Gomez said that the fire totally destroyed the building where the offices of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Parole, Senior Citizens Office and Public Employment Service Office are located.

Rizaldo said that when they arrived at the fire scene, fire trucks surrounded the building and firefighters started combating the fire but strong winds helped the fire consume the building quickly.

The two-story building was made of hardwood and built just after World War II, the investigator said.

He added that over the course of the fire explosions were heard by the firefighters, prompting them to take cover thinking these were exploding ammunition and explosives from the police armory.

The fire also destroyed the adjacent Department of Social Welfare and Development building, but it was stopped before it could reach the nearby City Health Office.

Rizaldo pegged the structural damage at P3.8 million and the partial equipment damage at P2.3 million but this figure could still rise after they consolidate the damage from the different offices.

Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation he said it was most likely caused either by electrical misuse or a malfunctioning electrical appliance.

He added that considering what was destroyed it might take from 30 to 45 days before they can submit a final report. — /BRP (FREEMAN)