Fire ravages the Araneta City Bus Station on Thursday, February 9, 2023. (Photo from Jean Mangaluz)
MANILA, Philippines — The fire that ravaged the Araneta City Bus Station in Cubao, Quezon City left damage worth P245,000,000, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on Friday.
The station’s management has also said that jeep operations have been suspended.
“Operations at the Times Square Park and Beep jeep terminals are temporarily suspended until further notice,” said the Araneta City management in a Facebook post on Thursday night.
According to the BFP’s latest report, the origin of the fire was from the sanitation barracks mezzanine.
Only the one-storey commercial building was involved, and surrounding establishments were untouched by the flames, said the BFP.
The fire reached Task Force Bravo, meaning that it surpassed the 4th and 5th alarm and entailed having a Regional Director managing the blaze.
The BFP said that the blaze was initially reported at 4:46 p.m., but authorities only declared fire out nearly five hours later at 10:09 p.m.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the BFP.