By Dhel Nazario
The Pasay City Bureau of Fire Protection has turned over the investigation on the Star City fire to the Bureau of Fire Protection in the National Capital Region (BFP-NCR) effective Tuesday.
FIRE AFTERMATH – The fire at Star City, which raged for four hours before it was controlled Wednesday morning, could have started at the amusement park’s stock room, arson investigators said. (Photo courtesy of Bureau of Fire Protection- Pasay and Pasay City Command Center)
Pasay City Fire Marshal Supt. Paul Pili said that BFP-NCR has formed a team of investigators to look into the fire that gutted the amusement park last Wednesday. The team will be led by Fire Inspector Romeo Pepito, chief of the National Capital Region Arson Investigation Division.
The transfer is indicated in the BFP Operational Procedures Manual under Determining Responsibility and Liability which mentions that Investigation and Intelligence Division of BFP National Headquarters shall have the authority to investigate fire incident cases with incurred damages in the aggregate amount of P60,000,000 and above.
According to Pili, the decision was a "management prerogative" and has nothing to do with Star City. Pili's claim on Sunday that they will be focusing on arson as the cause of the blaze was refuted by Lawyer Rudolph Steve Jularbal, Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Compliance Group of Manila Broadcasting Company.
He reiterated that arson is "only in the minds of the investigators" and will be supported by any evidence that they will be get yet it is still not conclusive.
"Sa volume ng gasoline na nakita namin dun yung ordinaryong tao magtataka na din (With the volume of gasoline we have detected there, even an ordinary person would be wondering,) he said.
Pili mentioned that the new team's investigation will be more accurate since they are trained in the field of forensics.