39-hour blaze fires up best among Cebuanos

Workers of establishments near the fire scene in Metro Department Store offer food to firefighters who continued to train their hoses on the burning structure. LITO TECSON / CEBU DAILY NEWS

CEBU CITY—It took firefighters 39 hours to put out the blaze that destroyed Metro Department Store here, enough time for appreciative Cebuanos to show gratitude to the firefighters who prevented the fire from spreading.

Hotels, merchants and individuals gave firemen and volunteers water, food and vitamins in a gesture of appreciation for a firefighting effort that lasted for far more than the firefighters’ official working hours.

Nagiel Bañacia, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Office chief, said “people here and there called to ask how they could help.” Firefighters and volunteer firemen “were well taken care of,” he said.

The heat and thick smoke inside the burning structure, one of the city’s landmarks, slowed down firefighters.

Holes in the wall

Responders used jack hammers and a crane to drill holes into Metro’s walls and roofs to let air out and allow firefighters to enter the burning structure.

At 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, the fire was declared officially out, at least 39 hours since it started.

Senior Supt. Samuel Tadeo, chief of the regional office of the Bureau of Fire Protection, said firefighters doused water on all floors of the department store to prevent the fire from rekindling.

The department store was commonly known here as Metro Ayala and was inside Cebu Business Park standing next to other malls like Ayala Center Cebu.

Only three of Metro’s eight floors were spared from the flames. Tadeo said the cause of the blaze was still being investigated, although there were initial reports that the sprinkler and fire alarm system of Metro failed during the fire.

Damage was estimated to be P100 million.

Bañacia said the city government spent at least P1.5 million on a chemical that was mixed with water to make it more effective against the blaze.

‘You gotta love Cebu’

Workers of Metro and other companies near the fire scene sent food to firefighters and volunteers every two hours, Bañacia said.

Firefighters were given rice, fried chicken, corned beef, bread, biscuits, banana, energy drinks, water, coffee and vitamins.

Jeanette Japzon, corporate communications manager of Cebu Holdings Inc., said a supplier earlier sent food packs and posted an appeal on Facebook for more food for firefighters.
It started a wave of donations of food.

“The relentless spirit kept us going,” Japzon said. “You gotta love Cebu. A new day brings hope. Bodies may be tired, but the resolve is unwavering,” she said.

Metro was owned by the Gaisano family through Vicsal Development Corp.

In 2011, a fire gutted Gaisano Capital South, another establishment owned by the Gaisanos in downtown Cebu City. It took about a week for firefighters to completely put out the flames inside the building.