Fire hits RJ Jacinto's guitar factory

The chief of the San Juan Fire Department said yesterday that a fire that hit musician Ramon “RJ” Jacinto’s guitar factory in San Juan City the other day was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

In an interview with The STAR, Inspector Chandler Arcadio said the fire that hit Jacinto’s factory – actually an old house on Pinaglabanan street owned by the Jacintos – destroyed an estimated P2 million worth of property.

He said the fire started from the ceiling at the kitchen area of the RJ Guitar Center at around 4:32 p.m. and was placed under control at around 5:55 p.m.

Nobody was injured in the three-hour fire that snarled traffic along Pinaglabanan St., and its interior streets.

Accounting clerk Diosdado Olarte said he was in the office entertaining a customer when the fire broke out. When he noticed smoke billowing out of the ceiling in the kitchen, Olarte said he rushed to the nearby fire station, which is about 50 meters away, and reported the fire in progress.

Arcadio said the fire reached task Force Alpha and responding firemen battled the blaze for three hours before declaring it as fire out at 7:05 p.m. –  Jose Rodel Clapano, Non Alquitran