P100M damage seen as fire guts auto supply building in Tuguegarao

A fire guts an auto supply building on Tuesday night, April 14. —CAGAYAN PIO

TUGUEGARAO CITY, CAGAYAN, Philippines — As much as P100 million in properties are estimated to be lost in a fire that gutted a building here that housed an auto supply trading shop.

The fire broke out around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and was contained by early morning on Wednesday.

Eduardo Lui, building owner, said the 35-year-old building and merchandise and other properties inside would reach P100 million.

The Bureau of Fire Protection has yet to release an official estimate of the damage as they are still investigating the incident, said Fire Chief Inspector Francis David Barcellano.

READ: 4 houses gutted by fire in Tuguegarao

According to Barcellano, the building contained tires for heavy equipment, oil, vehicle batteries and flammable materials, which caused the fire to spread quickly.

As the fire reached the third alarm, at least 16 fire trucks from various towns including Piat, Solana, Enrile, Peñablanca, all in Cagayan, and San Pablo in Isabela, as well as augmentation from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and other volunteer fire trucks were called in to help in containing the spread of the blaze.

The BFP admitted that firefighters had difficulty controlling the fire due to the highly flammable chemicals and materials.

No one was reported hurt during the incident.