ILIGAN CITY—Fire broke out at the Misamis Oriental Provincial Health Office building in Cagayan de Oro City around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday (April 14).
The building is inside the provincial government compound in downtown Cagayan de Oro City, just a block from the Northern Mindanao Medical Center, the region’s main COVID-19 referral facility, and a major mall.
Witnesses told radio journalists that the fire started at the back of the concrete two-story structure with wooden interior.
Jerie Calingasan, provincial health officer, said health workers were supposed to claim on Wednesday the newly arrived doses of Coronavac, the vaccine manufactured by Chinese firm Sinovac, from the Department of Health (DOH).
It was not clear whether the vaccines were spared or damaged in the fire.
Calingasan said the fire could have spread quickly because the building’s interior was all wood.
Supt. Alan A. Cabot, Cagayan de Oro City fire district director, said firefighting officials declared a fourth alarm as they fought the blaze.
Cabot declared the fire under control past 8 p.m.
At the height of the blaze, Misamis Oriental provincial warden Roy Bahian ordered jail guards to prepare for the evacuation of over 400 inmates in case the fire got near the facility.