Fire hits guns firm in Marikina

A fire believed to have been triggered by the sweltering heat razed the storage room of a firearms and ammunition firm in Marikina City Sunday afternoon.

Authorities were alerted to the fire at 1:45 p.m. when thick smoke billowed from the compound of Armscor [Arms Corporation of the Philippines] in Barangay (village) Fortune followed by a loud explosion.

Arson investigator Senior Fire Officer 1 Noel Guiyab said that luckily, firefighters managed to contain the blaze in the warehouse although it reached the second alarm before it was put out at 2:27 p.m.

“There was also a fire wall around the warehouse, which prevented the spread of the fire to the residential houses nearby,” Guiyab added. The blaze, however destroyed gunpowder and other company equipment worth P1 million.—Niña Calleja