Overheated genset may have caused fire in Carbon market

CEBU, Philippines —  A fire that razed an establishment in Unit 2 of Carbon Public Market in Cebu City Monday has left an estimated damage of at least P900,000.

This has been the 24th fire alarm the Cebu City Fire Office (CFFO) has responded to since Typhoon Odette.

The fire alarm was received at around 7:37 a.m. It was placed at first alarm at around 7:41 a.m. It was placed under control at 7:50 and was officially put off at around 7:53 a.m.

Senior Fire Officer 3 Emerson Arceo, investigator on case, said they are now initially eyeing an overheated generator set used by the store to be the cause of fire.

"Based sa among initial investigation, sa ikaupat nga andana nagsugod so among naabtan didto is ang katong generator. So naay posibilidad," said Arceo.

"Anyway ongoing pa man ang Investigation ana,so among gitan-aw is basin katong generator nga ilang gigamit didto," he added.

Due to the lack of electricity in most areas, some residents and establishments in are using gen sets, candles and other improvised lamps after the typhoon.

Since then, CCFO has been responding to fire incidents caused by unattended lighted candles and firecracker blast.

Aside from these, firemen assessed that the pile of dried leaves and woods left by the typhoon has also contributed to the flames.

In this incident, Arceo said they will be investigating further on the possibility that the generator set could have overheated and exploded that might have caused the fire.

"Or kana man gung generator nato is dili na advisable or dili na sya intended na i-indoor, so naay posibilidad nga tungod sa iyang gi-produce nga heat maoy naka cause nga nasunog tung mga stuff sa taas," he said.

The said establishment stored bulks of items for sale which may also be among the factors that the fire has spread out quickly.

Arceo said they found out that the store sells bulks of styrofoam, and other items that could be used for food packages.

The incident also caused injuries to the two firefighters who responded at the scene.

"Mga minor injuries ra, sa atong duha ka mga bombero..tungod sa ilang pagresponde, mga napaso. The usual injury nga makuha nato sa pagresponde sa fire alarm," said Arceo.

Over this, Arceo reminded the people who are currently using gen sets to religiously follow the user's manual. He also emphasized that the gen sets aren't advisable for an indoor use. — GMR (FREEMAN)