2 strikes against UP: 2nd fire in 3 weeks hits campus bowling alley

No more strikes or spares for now as a fire destroyed the bowling alley at the UP Alumni Center on the UP Diliman campus on Tuesday night. No one was hurt in the second fire to hit the campus in three weeks. LYN RILLON

After two fires broke out on its campus last month and destroyed two well-known student hangouts, the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City, may soon get its own fire station.

At 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a fire broke out at the UP Alumni Center on Magsaysay Street and razed the bowling alley and part of a cafe.

Quezon City fire marshal Supt. Jesus Fernandez estimated the damage to property at P200,000.

He said that the blaze, which was apparently caused by an electrical short circuit, started in the ceiling of the bowling alley employees’ quarters.

The flames then spread to a cafe in the same building and reached the second alarm before it was put out at 12:36 a.m., Fernandez added.

A fire volunteer identified as Zoren Cabagan was injured after some debris fell on his foot but the bowling alley employees and several UP varsity players being housed at the adjacent UP Alumni Hostel were all safely evacuated.

The blaze occurred more than two weeks after a fire destroyed the CASAA (College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Association) Food Center on Fernandez Street. Two people were injured in the June 13 incident, which was caused by a gas tank leak in one of the food stalls.

A statement posted on the official UP Diliman Facebook page said that the Office of the Campus Architect and Campus Maintenance Office had been speeding up the inspection of UP buildings for fire hazards.

Negotiations are also ongoing for the university to have  its own fire station, it added.

“Finally, when the new academic year begins in August, fire drills will be conducted as part of a larger disaster prevention program,” the statement said.–With Rose Marie Barroga