Fire consumes whatever is left of the Army Support Command’s Armaments Battalion inside Camp Servillano Aquino in Tarlac City, Tarlac. The fire Tuesday night, Feb. 7, 2017, was reportedly preceded by an explosion that apparently blew off the roof of the building. PHOTO FROM THE TARLAC INFORMATION OFFICE FACEBOOK PAGE
Updated: 9:50 p.m., Feb. 8, 2017
A powerful explosion and a fire hit the Army Support Command’s Armaments Battalion inside Camp Aquino in San Miguel, Tarlac, on Tuesday evening.
Armed Forces public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said the blast occured at about 10:30 p.m. and was followed by fire. Firefighters put out the blaze about an hour later.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Arevalo could not immediately say if there were casualties from the incident.
He dismissed social media reports, especially on Facebook, that terrorists were behind the explosion.
Empty wooden crates are stacked outside the Army Support Command’s Armaments Battalion building inside Camp Aquino that was hit by a blast and a fire Tuesday night, Feb. 7, 2017. PHOTO FROM TARLAC INFORMATION OFFICE FACEBOOK PAGE
“Their initial investigation showed that it’s more of a safety issue. But we are awaiting official report from the scene of the crime operatives as to the cause of the fire and explosion,” Arevalo said during a news briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.
Arevalo said the scene of the incident was an unoccupied building that belongs to the ASC and which is near another building where some soldiers reside.
He also said the area used to be a storage for ammunition, raising safety issues.
Col. Alan Macatingrao, spokesman of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), Macatingrao said no military personnel was injured during the incident as the fire did not affect residential establishments within the vicinity.
The Nolcom headquarters is located at Camp Aquino.
He said the Nolcom has coordinated with the Philippine National Police – Scene of the Crime Operatives, the Bureau of Fire and Protection, and other authorities to form a multi-agency group to investigate the incident.
“The NOLCOM assures the residents of Tarlac City that despite the incident, Tarlac City remains to be safe and safety measures concerning the incident will be undertaken to prevent the occurrence of such incident,” he said. /CBB /atm