A FIRE hit a Gaisano Grand mall in Barangay Basak in Lapu-Lapu City on Sunday afternoon, affecting portions of the fourth floor of the mall.
Lapu-Lapu City District Fire Marshall Supt. Rogelio Bongabong Jr. said they were still investigating what caused the hour-long fire inside Gaisano Grand Mall Mactan.
“It is still under investigation. Minimal ra pud ang damage kay nakuha man dayon nato ang base sa fire (The damage was only minimal because we immediately located the source of the fire),” he said.
Based on their initial investigation, Bongabong said the fire broke out at the fourth floor’s storage area, which had a variety of stocks, such as school supplies and diapers.
He said the fire was confined to the room but damaged a portion of the home furnishing section on the same floor.
Fire Officer (FO) 3 Ruffred Amores of the Lapu-Lapu City Fire District said they received the fire alarm at 4:27 p.m. and had declared Task Force Alpha at 5:10 p.m.
Under Task Force Alpha, neighboring fire departments in Cordova town, Mandaue City and Cebu City responded to the fire scene, Amores said.
There were customers inside the mall when the fire broke out but all were safely evacuated, said Amores, since the fire incident happened on the topmost level of the four-storey building.
Amores said they struggled to put out the smoke in the storage room.
“Nagpagawas ta sa aso kay kon dili man gyud pasiritan kay mobalik gyud ang kayo (We let the smoke out because if we did not hose it down, the fire could rekindle),” he said.
He said they were still looking at what triggered the fire, which was placed under control at 5:57 p.m. It was declared a complete fire out at 8:25 p.m., according to Amores.