BFP: Car battery explosion caused Post Office fire
MANILA, Philippines — A car battery stored along with office supplies, thinners, paints and cans in the basement of the Manila Central Post Office building exploded, causing the May 22 fire that gutted the historic structure, the Bureau of Fire Protection ruled in its investigation on the blaze.
News5 reported Tuesday that the fire clearance certificate obtained by the Philippine Postal Corp. from the BFP found that the battery found in the southern part of the basement, particularly in the Mega Manila Storage Room, self-discharged which led to a thermal runaway, causing an increase in temperature and pressure and eventually an explosion.
“The BFP report stated that the combustibility of the load contents and its enclosed set-up greatly influence heat build-up that explains the explosion and subsequent conflagration, leading to the full development of fire and subsequent damage of the nearby structures,” the PHLPost said, as quoted by state-run Philippine News Agency.
“We welcomed the result of the investigation from the BFP to know exactly what really happened. We will now move on and concentrate primarily on the recovery and rehabilitation of the iconic building,” Postmaster General Luis Carlos said in a statement, as reported by News5.
Initial estimates put the damage on the Post Office wrought by the massive 31-hour fire, which reached the highest alarm, at P300 million.
The 97-year-old building caught fire at 11:41 p.m. on May 21 and continued to burn until around 7 a.m. the following day when it was declared to be under control. It was declared fire out on May 23.
News about the fire broke the hearts of many heritage advocates who were saddened by the destruction of the building, which had been declared an Important Cultural Property in 2018.
The Post Office building is a neoclassical structure designed by renowned Filipino architects Tomas Mapua and Juan Marcos de Guzman Arellano with American architect Ralph Doane in 1925.
However, it was destroyed during World War II in 1945 but was rebuilt after the war in 1946, according to PHLPost.
This building is the center of the Philippine postal services and the headquarters of the former Bureau of Posts, later renamed “Postal Service Office,” during the presidency of Corazon Aquino.
This is where the Philippine Post holds office and provides delivery service of communications, goods, merchandise and payment services to Filipinos. — Xave Gregorio
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