By Malu Cadelina Manar
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- At least 12 establishments here, including boarding houses, were razed to the ground when a fire broke out at past 2 a.m. Friday.
(Photo courtesy of EC Joy Balgos/ MANILA BULLETIN)
City Fire Marshal Captain Marjorie Resurreccion, said the fire started in an internet cafe owned by a certain Don Silver De Leon which was located along Datu Ingkal Street here, just in front of a Catholic college.
The fire also engulfed a mercantile business, a carinderia, boarding house, a print shop, and other structures. Damage was estimated at P1.5 million.
Resurreccion said they are investigating the cause of the fire but ruled out that it started from a pile of unused lumber and garbage.
"The wood piles were not totally burned. We can still see traces of some lumber. So, it was not possible the fire started there. It has to be somewhere, and the nearest possibility is that, it started in a two-storey structure owned by De Leon," said the fire marshal.
Astro's Internet Shop, which was razed to the ground, was located on the upper ground of the building, while the first floor was a boarding house.
"We were informed by some witnesses that there was a party on Thursday night at the boarding house," she said, adding, "there might be other reasons aside from faulty electrical wiring."
Authorities declared fire under control at 4:10 a.m., and fire out, at around 5 a.m.
The fire on Friday dawn this month, data from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) showed.