Workers take brief break as fire hits Makati high-rise

A 20-minute fire broke out in a commercial building in Makati City Thursday morning and caused a brief, unscheduled break from work.

City fire marshal Supt. Ricardo Perdigon said the blaze started at 10:34 a.m. inside the electrical room located at the third floor of Equitable PCI Bank Tower on Paseo de Roxas Avenue.

It reached the first alarm at 10:52 a.m. but firemen managed to put it out shortly after.

Perdigon said that no one was injured in the blaze although a woman employee suffered an asthma attack while another one complained of high blood pressure.

Everyone in the building was immediately asked to step outside after the fire was reported.

“But normal operations in the tower resumed as soon as the fire was put out,” the fire marshal said.

Perdigon said that while the incident was still under investigation, fire probers suspected that the blaze was caused by an electrical problem. Dexter Cabalza