ILOILO CITY – A fire in the heritage district or the old Central Business District here on Friday night, March 15, damaged more than P8 million in property.
AN aerial photo of the nine-hour fire that struck a heritage area in Iloilo City. (Federation FIRE Iloilo)
An initial report by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to the Iloilo City government said the nine-hour fire totally damaged two buildings on JM Basa and Iznart Streets.
The fire affected 1,078-square meters of the Divinagracia and Celo Ledesma Buildings.
The fire started at past 11 p.m. on Friday and declared fire out by past 8 a.m. or nne hours later on Saturday, March 16.
Fire Officer 2 John Paquito Verano, BFP-Iloilo City arson investigator, said the fire initially started at Emerald Finance Corp. on the second floor of the Divinagracia Building.
The fire quickly spread to the neighboring building as BFP firefighters and volunteer fire brigades had a hard time penetrating the area since buildings are enclosed and stores had flammable items.
Mayor Jerry Treñas ordered the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to closely coordinate with the BFP for inspection of electrical connections in buildings deemed as heritage structures.