A fire erupted inside the building that houses the Minglanilla Trial Court on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, after an employee allegedly burned documents under a desk and attacked others with a fluorescent bulb. | Photo from Minglanilla Mayor Rajiv Enad FB
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Authorities will be conducting an investigation on the background of the employee, who allegedly started the fire inside the Minglanilla courthouse on Tuesday, December 13, 2023, to determine the motive.
This was according to Senior Fire Officer 1 (SFO1) Derik Cordova, investigator at the Minglanilla Fire Station.
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Fire intentional
Minglanilla Mayor Rajiv Enad previously said that the fire was intentional and that it was started by a court employee.
Cordova told CDN Digital in a phone interview that they would be conducting progress investigation to find out what drove 60-year-old Jose Mesa Agusto to start the fire.
This would include checking Agusto’s background, said Cordova.
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Status of injured victims
He also said that they would be checking the status of the 15 victims who suffered injuries from the incident and were brought to various hospitals in the city.
Meanwhile, the suspected arsonist, Agusto, was declared dead on arrival at the Minglanilla District Hospital.
According to Cordova, structural damages caused by the third alarm inferno amounted to P6,816,000.
On the other hand, Enad said in his social media that he planned to give recognition to Jay Arvin Pasadas whom he called “Hero of the Day.”
Pasadas is the Minglanilla Traffic Committee (Mitcom) personnel who braved the fire to help save the victims inside.
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How Pasadas saved victims
While standing on the street, Pasadas allegedly noticed black smoke coming from the trial court building and heard shouts for help.
He reportedly saw hands waving from the window of the second floor which prompted him to enter the building.
Pasadas had to forcefully kick the door leading to the second floor and the main door of the trial court multiple times so that he could enter and help those inside to escape the fire.
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Pasadas to be recognized for saving fire victims
For his act of helping people, Enad said that he would be urging the Municipal Council to commend Pasadas.
The fire that claimed the life of one person and injured others allegedly began in one of the employee’s desks.
Agusto had reportedly been burning several documents underneath his desk.
After Judge Wilson Ibones of the Minglanilla Trial Court observed his actions, he instructed Darwin Rondina to reprimand his co-worker.
Agusto, however, held a fluorescent bulb and attacked Rondina, Ibones, and other employees.
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Victims rushed to hospital
Through the help of Pasadas and other residents in the area, the injured employees were brought out of the building and rushed to the nearest hospital.
Firefighters in Minglanilla received the fire alarm at 12:05 p.m., escalating it to the fourth alarm and placed it under control at 12:40 p.m.
At 12:55 p.m., firefighters officially declared fire out.
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