P10M lost to Pinamalayan town hall fire

CITY OF CALAPAN –– A fire that hit the government compound of Pinamalayan town in Oriental Mindoro province on morning Tuesday left P10 million worth of damage on the infrastructures, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said.

The fire that started around 2:30 a.m. broke out at the treasurer’s office at the old two-story executive building.

Senior Fire Officer 4 Benjamin Navarro, Pinamalayan BFP chief, clarified in a phone interview that the fire was under control at 5:20 a.m., and fire-out was declared at 8:10 a.m.

Responders had difficulty in putting out the fire on the first floor of the building because of the paper documents kept there, while the second floor is made of wooden materials.

The Municipal Risk Reduction Management Council reported that important documents, like tax declaration and land titles at the assessor’s office; the database of records at the Municipal Treasury Office; and important records at the Engineering Office, and the Department of Trade and Industry, were saved.

Meanwhile, files from the Bids and Awards Committee office that were destroyed have back-up copies, which can be reproduced.

The offices affected by the fire will be relocated, the disaster management office said.

LZB