KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 22 Nov) – A dozen establishments here, including boarding houses, were razed to the ground when a fire broke out past 2 a.m. today, a fire officer said.
Capt. Marjorie Resurreccion, city fire marshal, said the blaze started in an internet café owned by Don Silver de Leon located along Datu Ingkal St., just in front of a Catholic-run college institution.
The fire engulfed a number of business establishments, including a carenderia, boarding house, a print shop, and other structures. Fire officials estimated total damages at P1.5 million.
Resurreccion said they have yet to know what caused the fire. She ruled out the possibility, though, that it started in an open ground where piles of unused lumber and garbage were located.
“The wood piles were not totally burned. We can still see traces of some lumber.
So it was not possible the fire started there. It has to be somewhere, and the nearest possibility is that it started in a two-story structure owned by De Leon,” said the fire marshal.
The Astro’s Internet Shop, which was totally destroyed, was located on the upper ground of the building while the first floor was a boarding house.
“We were informed by some witnesses that there was a party on Thursday night at the boarding house,” she said. “There might be other reasons aside from faulty electrical wiring,” Resurreccion added.
Authorities declared the fire to be under control at 4:10 a.m., and fire out by 5 a.m.
Today’s dawn fire was the fifth incident this November, data from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) showed. (Malu Cadelina Manar / MindaNews)
