What started the fire in a Cebu City high-rise condo building?
Fire and arson investigators looking into reports that hot works may have sparked the fire
Smoke rises from a high-rise condo building in Cebu City that caught fire on April 14, 2023. | photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – As of Tuesday, April 18, 2023, fire investigators continue to investigate the real cause behind the fire that struck a 35-story residential high-rise in Brgy. Kasambagan, Cebu City last April 14.
Fire and arson investigators are not discounting any possibilities, said Cebu City Fire Office spokesperson, Senior Fire Officer 2 (SFO2) Wendell Villanueva.
READ: Huge fire hits high-rise condo building in Cebu City
The Cebu City Fire Official, however, confirmed they received and are now looking into reports that hot works may have sparked the fire.
“Up until today, investigation is still ongoing as regards to the real cause. We still cannot have a definite conclusion although we received speculations that the fire came from there (roof deck),” Villanueva said during the OpenLine Media Forum on Tuesday, April 18.
The building’s contractor told fire investigators that indeed, hot works, like welding, were being done on the top floors.
“But our investigation did not stop there. We have to explore other angles, and we’re looking at a lot of angles to determine the origins of the fire,” added Villanueva.
The 35-storey high-rise was still under construction when a fire, that spread from the top to bottom floors, broke out past 2 p.m. on April 14.
The blaze raged for approximately nine hours, resulting in damages close to P4 billion.
READ: Nearly P4 billion lost in Cebu City high-rise condo building fire — Cebu City fire marshal
While no one was hurt, tenants and unit owners from the nearby buildings were told to evacuate for the meantime.
Strange, unique Case
According to Villanueva, they consider last April 14’s fire as a ‘unique case’.
“Honestly, firefighters in Cebu City as well as from the region (Central Visayas) were overwhelmed. We’re overwhelmed since it was a very unique case,” he said.
“Unlike in most fire incidents where the fire spread from the bottom to the top, this time, it came from the roof deck down to the lower floors,” he added.
Aside from the real cause, fire investigators are also looking into how the fire spread from the top to the bottom.
These include theories that ash and embers may have entered through pipes.
They also pointed out that an incomplete fire detection and prevention alarm system, since the building is under construction, may have also contributed to the fire’s spread.
In the meantime, Villanueva told property developers and contractors, especially those involved in high-rise structures, to ensure a safety officer is always around during construction.
Meanwhile, the city government, through its Office of the Building Official (OBO), also instructed the property developer and management to suspend all construction activities.
The OBO has also directed the management to ‘submit incident report, corrective actions, methodology, mitigation works, and other relevant documents and justification letters, within three days from receipt of the order. Otherwise, they may face legal actions.
/bmjo
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