Fire razes Customs warehouse in Port Area

A fire believed to have been caused by electrical malfunction razed a warehouse of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Manila on Thursday night.

In a statement, the BOC said the fire broke out at Warehouse 159 at the Port Area at 9:06 p.m., where seized and abandoned cargo for condemnation were stored.

The bureau’s auction and cargo disposal division chief, Oscar Villalba, said the damaged items included nonserviceable vehicles, tires, fake slippers and bags, used clothes and fabrics.

Security service acting director Isabelo Tibayan said the highly combustible materials caused the fire to spread and damage the entire warehouse.

Chemicals also kept in the structure caused explosions.

The fire reached the fifth alarm because of the lack of fire hydrants near the area, and was declared under control at 11:45 p.m., Tibayan said.

No one was reported injured and the cost of the damage was still being assessed at press time.—JULIE M. AURELIO