UPDATE: Fire guts warehouse of Japanese tire maker in Clark

Fire along NLEX near Clark. INQUIRER.net

(Update, originally posted at 5:11 p.m.)

CLARK FREEPORT – A three-hour fire gutted a warehouse of the Yokohama Tire Philippines Inc. (YTPI) on Sunday (May 14) but no one was hurt, an official of the state-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC), said.

The cause of the fire which was put out at 6:15 p.m. has not yet been determined, said CDC president Noel Manankil.

Angelina Casasola, YTPI vice president for administration, did not reply to calls and text messages inquiring about the damage estimates from the company’s first fire since YTPI first operated in Clark 25 years ago. It is the biggest plant of the Japan-based Yokohama Tire Company.

Manankil said the fire broke out at 3:20 p.m. at the Phase 3 warehouse, which contained newly-made tires. A huge black plume of smoke rose above the burning structure but the blaze did not spread to nearby buildings, the nearest of which was The Medical City.

The CDC Fire Department was aided by fire personnel deployed by the Clark International Airport Corp., the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the paper mill TIPCO and local governments from Pampanga and Tarlac.