17 stores lost in 3-hr fire: Circa 1940s block goes up in flames

Three quarters of a block in old downtown Cebu City went up in smoke at dawn yesterday, destroying 17 commercial establishments and causing property losses initially estimated at P3 million. No casualties were reported in the three-hour fire.

The fire started small on the groundfloor of an old wooden building constructed way back in the late 1940s. But the heat ignited a hoard of firecrackers stored on the third floor of the same building and the fire quickly engulfed the entire structure.

The spectre posed by firecracker hoards brought to mind the tragic Christmas Day fire in Ormoc City in which firecrackers up for sale inside a Unitop store ignited, the flames engulfing the entire building. The death toll in that fire eventually reached 26.

Strong winds combined with low water pressure caused the fire to explode into a major conflagration that cut a swath of destruction on the block bounded on three sides by Lincoln, Manalili and Plaridel streets.

The progression of alarms raised since the fire was tapped in at 3:48 a.m. - first, second, third, and on to general - showed the degree of difficulty firefighters had in battling the blaze.

Aside from the strong winds and low water pressure, firefighters also had to deal with broken equipment, improperly constructed firewalls, and constricted space within which to maneuver.

Investigators identified the burned establishments as Cebu Guitar, Cebu Classic Guitar, Ko Cua Commercial, Pan de Rose Bakery, Cebu Ham Tat Trading, GO Marketing, Vision General Merchandise, Chua Yao Enterprise, KC Marketing, Ong King King warehouse, Cebu Sunrise and Premier Marketing, GGM Marketing, Nazareth Children Center, LC Remedios Store, JLY Shoe Center, Tiong Bee, and Cebu Kings Trading.

Firefighters experienced particular difficulty putting out the fire as it engulfed the Ong Kin King warehouse because it contained a huge stock of combustible edible oil, prompting them to eventually use foam fire retardants to vanquish the flames.

Vice Mayor Michael Rama, who learned at the fire scene that the fire department's hydraulic ladders were broken, said he will personally request the Bureau of Fire Protection head office in Manila to provide Cebu with new and better equipment.

The absence of these aerial ladders forced the firefighters to clamber up the burning buildings, all of which were in danger of collapsing due to their antiquity and the kind of materials they were made of.

Also, the presence of improperly constructed firewalls hindered their attempt to penetrate the interior portions of the block which were unreachable by fire hoses attached to the engines positioned on the streets outside.



Improperly constructed firewalls always pose as a major obstacle during fire fighting efforts, said fire investigator Felix Romero.

While there were no injuries or casualties reported, Cebu City fire marshal Esmael Codilla and one of his men nearly got killed by a collapsed wall. He was giving instructions to the man when firefighters manning a nearby fire engine screamed at them to flee. Just seconds later, the conrete wall slammed the ground where they stood.

Presidential assistance for Central Visayas Felix Guanzon, who owned one of the establishments spared by the fire, said he would be calling for a meeting between fire officials and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District to thresh out problems concerning availability of water during fires.

The low water pressure experienced at the fire scene yesterday was traced to a closed valve on one of the main pipelines feeding water to Cebu City from Talisay City.

Aside from the different fire stations in the city, other units that responded were those from the Filipino-Chinese Fire Brigade, the Barangay Santo Nino Fire Volunteers, and the Lapu-Lapu Fire Station. (/JST)