Firemen work on putting out a fire at the Carbon Market area in Cebu City on Monday, January 3, 2022. CDN Digital photo | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A generator set that reportedly overheated likely caused the fire that partially razed an establishment located at the Carbon Public Market Unit 2 in barangay Ermita here on Monday morning, January 3, 2022.
This was what Fire Officer (FO3) Emerson Arceo, fire investigator of the Cebu City Fire Office (CCFO), said of the fire that started from the fourth floor of an establishment in the area.
Arceo, however, clarified that have yet to verify this pending their investigation.
“Ika-upat ka andana nagsugod, amo naabtan ang generator. Naay possibilidad. Anyway, on going pa ang among investigation ana. Among gi consider possible ang generator nga ginagamit ngadto,” Arceo said.
(The fire started on the fourth floor of the establishment, where we saw a generator. There is a possibility [of an overheating case]. Anyway, our investigation is still ongoing. We consider that [the cause of fire] was possibly due to the generator used there.)
Arceo said that the generator set was found inside the establishment, which is not where it is supposed to be.
“Subject for further investigation pana pero naa gyud possibilidad nga nag overheat or kana man gud ang generator di advisable or intended nga gamiton for indoor nga naay possibilidad nga tungod sa na produce nga heat. Usa siguro sa naka cause nga nasunog ang taas,” he added.
(This is still subject for further investigation but there is possibility that this overheated since generators are not advisable or intended for indoor use since this would produce heat. That may have caused the fire.)
To avoid this from happening again, Arceo again reminds the public to follow the guidelines or the manual in using generator sets.
The use of generator sets is common lately due to the lack of power supply in some areas brought about by the damage caused by super typhoon Odette (International name: Rai) last December 16, 2021.
The fire that transpired around 7:37 am on Monday, January 3, 2021, left a damage to property worth P900,000. The said establishment was owned by a certain Danilo Uraca.
Arceo said that this establishment stores and sells various items such as styrofoam, among others, commonly used for packed lunch.
It took firefighters around 20 minutes to put out the fire, which left the establishment partially burned.
“Fire out” was declared at 7:53 a.m.
Arceo said that at least two fire responders sustained minor injuries and burns from the incident. They were given immediate medical attention.
This was the 24th fire that transpired in Cebu City since December 17, 2021, or after the onslaught of super typhoon Odette.
/bmjo
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