P500,000 school supplies burn in Badian

SCHOOL supplies worth about P500,000 were lost when fire razed a warehouse in barangay Poblacion, Badian, southwest Cebu last Tuesday night.

Property damage  was pegged at P700,000 for the building  and  products inside, said FO3 Joselito Villarubia of the Moalboal Fire Station.

The warehouse owned by Aurora Librando is located some 50 meters away from the Botica Librando Hardware.

Aside from school supplies, the warehouse contained paint and crude oil.

In a phone interview, store clerk Rita Sotomayor said the warehouse contained new stocks of school supplies, they prepared for the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

29-year-old colleague Emy Amaro who also works in the store injured her right foot when she stepped on a nail while helping fire fighters pull a water hose towards the warehouse.

The Moalboal fire station received the fire alarm at 6 p.m.

“We arrived at the fire scene after fifteen minutes and the fire was placed under control in five minutes.” said FO2 June Espinosa of the Moalboal Fire Station in Cebuano.

FO3 Joselito Villarubia of the Moalboal Fire Station said the Badian fire truck was the one who arrived first at the scene.

Fire trucks from the Badian, Moalboal, Dumanjug, Alegria, Barili, Carcar, and Ronda fire stations responded to the alarm, said Villarubia in a phone interview.

Espinosa said they are still investigating the cause of the fire./Reporter Rhea Ruth V. Rosell