BFP: Lighted mosquito coil caused Cebu City dawn fire that burned 5 PUJs

A dawn fire has razed public utility jeepeneys (PUJs) that were parked in a garage located along C. Padilla Street in Cebu City. | Contributed Photo via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A lighted mosquito coil caused the fire that burned at least five public utility jeepneys (PUJs) that were parked on a privately owned garage along C. Padilla Street in Cebu City at dawn on Monday, September 14.

Fire Officer 2 (FO2) Fulbert Navarro of the Cebu City Fire Department said that the mosquito coil first burned the seat foam of one of the parked PUJs before it spread to burn the entire unit and four more units that were nearby.

Luckily, no one was hurt during the fire incident which broke at 2:58 a.m. and was placed under control 17 minutes later.

Damage caused by the first alarm fire was pegged at P750,000.

READ: Cebu City dawn fire damages parked PUJs

Navarro said that garage caretaker Charlie Mino admitted to lighting two mosquito coils before he slept Sunday night, Sept. 13.

Dioscoro Asenjo, 70, hired Mino as a caretaker and allowed him to sleep in one of his units at night.

“Matud sa nakakita, nakitan niya pag last nga ni gawas si Charlie Mino mao to pag taod-taod gi inform sa mga trisikad driver nga nasunog ang garahe-anan,” said Navarro.

(A witness said that he saw Charlie Mino leave [the garage] and a few minutes later a trisikad driver had informed them of the fire that broke there.)

Navarro said they found during their investigation that one of the lighted mosquito coils burned the seat foam which Mino uses for his bed. / dcb