Meralco not responsible for fire — BFP

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BPF) has cleared the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) of any responsibility in the Jan. 8 fire that hit Ermin Garcia street in Cubao, Quezon City.

Residents earlier blamed Meralco for the fire that left a 60-year-old woman dead. The fire also destroyed more than 500 shanties and left some 1,500 families homeless. They claimed that a spark in one of the electrical posts that Meralco field personnel had been working on shortly before the incident led to the fatal blaze.

An investigation by the BFP however determined that the fire started accidentally in one of the shanties in the area and not in any of Meralco’s electrical posts. BFP Spokesman Col. Danilo Cabrera said they arrived at this conclusion after interviewing witnesses to the incident and conducting laboratory tests on evidence found on the site.

"The Quezon City fire station, which was in charge of this case, already issued a certification that the most probable cause of the fire was a lose connection of electrical wirings in the said house," Col. Cabrera said.

The certification was signed by Chief Inspector Oscar Villegas, Quezon City fire marshal.

Alfredo Ramos, officer-in-charge of Meralco’s corporate safety division, added that the fire could not have been cause by Meralco equipment or personnel because its own crew double-checked the facilities that had been installed in the area and found everything intact even after the fire.

"There were no signs of burns or other indications that our facilities may have started the fire," Ramos said.