By KIMBERLIE QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) national office will take over the investigation of the fire that razed about a third of the Baguio City public market in March.
Senior Fire Officer 3 Joey Dagson said they must turn over the probe because of the city’s limited capacity.
“In fact, we had to forward the ash and electrical debris to the national office for testing because we do not have our own laboratory,” he told Nordis on April 28.
Dagson said they already forwarded the last progress report and all required documents. “BFP Baguio no longer has jurisdiction over the case and also cannot give out much information about it,” he added.
In reply to Councilor Maylen Yaranon’s request for a copy of the investigation report, City Fire Marshall Supt. Marisol Odiver told the lawmaker that the BFP National Headquarters Investigation and Intelligence Division now has the jurisdiction.
“All other concerns regarding the investigation shall be answered only by the said office,” the April 28 letter said.
In an April 24 interview, Dagson said the market fire was possibly “man-made” after the test for the ash and electrical debris test came out negative. He explained the results meant faulty electrical wiring or flammable substances were not the cause of the fire.
“We cannot say that it is arson because while it is possible that somebody caused the fire, it could be unintentional,” he clarified.
“This is just our theory, it is not yet proven, we still need to investigate deeper,” Dagson added.
The fire officer, however, said they did not include their “man-made” theory in their progress report because “it has no basis.”
The fire that razed 1,700 out of 3,900 stalls operating at Blocks 3 and 4 of the Baguio public market just before midnight of March 12 affected over 2,000 vendors. The sections, completed in 2013, served as relocation for ambulant vendors.
Investigators said the fire started in the wagwagan area, where they sell second-hand clothes.
Following the fast-tracked clean-up drive, as early as March 21, 80% of the vendors returned to their stalls at the burnt area of the market. # nordis.net / with reports from Jullana Principe
