Firefighters work to put out a fire from a two-storey pre-school building along Veteran’s Drive in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. CDN Digital photo | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines—A two-storey pre-school building along Veteran’s Drive in Barangay Lahug here was consumed by a fire on Wednesday evening, October 21, 2020.
The Cebu City Fire Department received the alarm at 7:45 p.m. and was raised to second alarm at 7:55 p.m. It was declared “fire out” at exactly 8:33 p.m.
Fire Officer 2 Emeraon Arceo, a fire investigator, told CDN Digital that they are looking at the building’s electrical wiring as a possible cause of the fire.
“Ang duty nga gwardiya maoy unang nakitan nga ang ilang circuit breaker ni spark na kuno,” said Arceo.
(That is what the security guard on duty saw, that the circuit breaker sparked.)
However, Arceo said that they will have to verify the information as they conduct their investigation.
Arceo said that it is also possible that the fire was due to faulty electrical wiring as the 400 square-meter building is said to be an old one and was rented by the school owner for about 17 years now.
The cost of damages of the fire was estimated to be at P800,000.
No one was injured during the incident.
With this incident, Arceo is reminding the public to always check on the electrical wiring of their houses or buildings with the help of certified electricians.
Faulty electrical wiring is a common cause of fire.
/bmjo