Electrical misuse eyed in firecracker storage fire

CEBU, Philippines — The Lapu-Lapu City Fire Department has started its probe into the cause of the fire that destroyed a warehouse that stored firecrackers at Sitio Kinalumsan, Barangay Canjulao, Lapu-Lapu City.

The fire investigators are zooming in on the electrical usage aspect that could have ignited the fire.

Fire Officer 3 Oiretuele Baguio said that they are looking at a possible electrical misuse that led to a short circuit as the cause of the conflagration.

Baguio added that they received that fire alarm at 2:24 p.m. last Saturday.  The fire reached third alarm.  It was placed under control at 3 p.m.

Fire Officer 1 John Simon Tepait of the Lapu-Lapu City Fire District said a certain James Berden owns the warehouse but was rented out as a storage area for firecrackers.

The fire department pegged the damage at P160,000.

The fire department also said they did not receive any report of anyone who got injured or perished in the incident.

Meanwhile, the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) has disposed about 2,000 firecrackers by soaking these with water.

These firecrackers were seized by the personnel of the MCPO Police Station 1 headed by Police Major Ramil Morpos when they were patrolling the city market shortly before Christmas.

Morpos said that they have seized illegal firecrackers that were sold by sidewalk vendors.  These include 160 pieces of Pop-pop, 920 packs of Binggala, and 10 packs of Piccolo worth P1,230.

Morpos added that they are intensifying their patrolling to prevent people from selling and buying these illegal firecrackers.

He also said that they seized the products based on Executive Order 28, as well as the city ordinance prohibiting the sale of such products.

Morpos clarified that only the firecrackers are prohibited.  Pyrotechnics, on the other hand, may be sold with proper permits from the government. (FREEMAN)