Blaze hits Capitol dep’t

A fire nearly destroyed the Provincial Assessor’s Office in the Provincial Capitol building at 2 p.m. yesterday.

Cebu City Fire Marshal Aderson Comar said they received the fire alarm at 2:05 p.m. and it was put out in 10 minutes.

Servillano Angcay Jr., head of the security guards, said they had to break the glass windows of the office to put out the fire.

Angcay and the security guards on duty put out the fire with their fire extinguishers.

Though no documents nor office equipment were damaged, the air-conditioning unit was burned.

Angcay said they suspect that the fire was caused by a spark from the unplugged wire of the unit.

There was no work since it was a holiday. Comar said the fire safety alarm in the Capitol building didn’t work.

Provincial engineer Eulogio Pelayre told Cebu Daily News the Capitol has a fire alarm system in place.

However, he couldn’t elaborate if smoke detectors are installed in all offices. The cost of damages have yet to be known.

The fire occurred amid another fire outbreak at sitio Kawayan, barangay Sambag 2, in Cebu City last Nov. 29.

The fire razed 11 houses and destroyed properties worth P800,000. No one was hurt in the fire , Comar said. Correspondents Rhea Ruth V. Rosell, Carmel Loise Matus and Chito O. Aragon