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More than P1 million worth of property went up in smoke yesterday dawn as fire struck a three-story commercial building along M.C. Briones Street, barangay Ermita in downtown Cebu City.
Three stores occupied the building owned by Nimfa Sarmiento, which was in front of the Carbon Public Market's Unit II. Jim’s Enterprises, owned by Jimmy Lim, was destroyed. Emie’s Store, owned by Fredo and Emiliana Dayap, and Celia’s Store, owned by Rolando Pia, suffered extensive damage.
Fire investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire, but eyewitness reported seeing it start outside the second floor, where a number of electric wires connect the building to main power lines.
“A number of witnesses saw the same thing, but we can not yet make that an official conclusion,” said SPO2 Felix Romero, a fire investigator with the Cebu City Fire Department.
The Dayap couple was inside their store when the fire broke out. However, they were unable to stop the fire from spreading.
Firewalls prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings.
Firefighters were on the scene two minutes after the fire was reported, Romero said. However, the building was heavily secured with locks and metal gates, making it difficult for firefighters to get in.
The fire was declared under control 35 minutes later.
No one was reported injured.
An early assessment placed damages at P800,000. While the building’s walls were concrete, its floors and dividers were made of wood.
The assessment later increased to around P1 million after investigators got data of the contents inside each store.
Jim’s Enterprises, which was destroyed, stored processed foods and plumbing materials. The other two stores sold various merchandise.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña congratulated Supt. Ismael Codilla, the city’s fire marshal, for the fire department’s quick response.
“Cebuanos should be happy that the Cebu fire department is the best I have ever seen,” said the mayor.
Osmeña said he heard stories from other parts of the country wherein fire marshals first demand payment from the neighbors of homes or buildings affected by fire before acting on it.
He said Cebu could be a lucrative place for corrupt fire officials.
The mayor said that it was unavoidable for fire trucks to sometimes respond to alarms late, but the city fire department was doing a good job in general.
