Fire razes Fort Boni armory

A two-hour fire razed the headquarters of the Philippine Army’s reserve command and two nearby offices, including an armory at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig before dawn yesterday.

Army officials were quick to rule out sabotage in the blaze that initially broke at the 30-year-old bungalow-type structure housing the headquarters of the Regional Community Defense Group (RCDG) at about 3:15 a.m.

No one was hurt in the incident.

Placed under control by responding firefighters at about 5 a.m. the blaze also razed the headquarters of the 9th Ready Reserve (9thRR) Division under Col. Rafael Alunan III.

Alunan, a reserve Army officer, was the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary during the Ramos administration.

Also destroyed by the blaze, which Army authorities blamed on faulty electrical wiring, was the Army’s Reserve Command Liaison office.

Army spokesman Maj. Bartolome Bacarro, said 32 M-16 and M-14s rifles as well as ammunition stored at the 9thRR headquarters were destroyed in the fire.

Bacarro said alert soldiers managed to save 57 firearms from the burning armory.

However, Bacarro admitted that important documents, including personnel service records and those of the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Course) cadets and cadettes, were all destroyed.

"We are ruling out sabotage. A security guard saw a spark at the RCDG building and in a few seconds there was fire," he said.

Bacarro issued this statement to douse speculations that the fire was intentionally set and part of a destabilization plot against the government.

He added that some people or groups are now riding on the incident to create a wedge between the military leadership and soldiers.

"It was not intentionally burned. People or groups are only riding on the incident," Bacarro said.

Guard of on-duty Cpl. Rhoderick Dimaranan, said he was manning his post at the front gate of the headquarters when he saw a spark coming from the RCDG building.

Moments later a fire started, prompting him to alert both Army and Taguig fire marshals.

Dimaranan said he did not monitor any suspicious movements or individuals entering the compound, which also houses the headquarters of the Philippine Army’s Civil Affairs Group (PACG).

"May nakita akong spark na nanggaling sa RCDG building, tapos nakita ko ang konting apoy at mamayaya na ay tumatakbo na ang guard na nagsisigaw ng sunog. Tumawag na ako ng bumbero," Dimaraman said.

The gutted Army structures were made of light materials with old electrical installations.

"Patay na, nasunog lahat ang mga retirement papers ko," one Army sergeant who is due to retire, lamented.

At the height of the blaze, ROTC cadets and cadettes, who were having their summer Army training at Fort Bonifacio, assisted in controlling the blaze.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Douglas Modomo, arson investigator, said the fire reached the fifth alarm.

Some 24 firetrucks were sent in the area.

Army probers are still conducting a thorough inventory to determine the exact damage caused by the blaze, which was nearly re-ignited when power was restored.

"Mabuti na lamang at naagapan dahil nag nagkaroon muli ng spark sa mga wiring sa PACG," Bacarro said.

In Las Piñas City, the old public market in Barangay Daniel Fajardo was hit by fire at around 3:03 a.m.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Eduardo Torley said both wet and dry goods being sold in the 400-square meter market, were razed in the blaze which reached Task Force Charlie.

Firetrucks from cities and municipalities in southern Metro rushed to the scene and helped put out the fire. Firefighters declared a fire-out at around 8:45 a.m.

Torley said that no one was hurt in the incident.

The cause of the fire at the two-storey market is still being determined. — With Rhodina Villanueva