Demolition pushed for department store

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has approved the recommendation of the Office of the Building Official for the immediate demolition of the structural remains of the Gaisano Capital South. OBO officer-in-charge Josefa Ylanan said in a letter addressed to Henry Gaisano of Taipan Development Inc., that the structure is now hazardous after it was gutted by a fire last December 24.

Quoting a section from the National Building Code, the letter said a demolition may be required if a “buildings/structure or portion thereof has been damaged by fire, earthquake, wind, flood, or by any other cause to such an extent that the structural strength or stability thereof is materially less than it was before the catastrophe and is less than the minimum requirements of the National Structural Code of the Philippines for new buildings of similar structures, purpose or location.”

Due to this, OBO has declared the building as dangerous, said Ylanan who also added that the remains need to be removed especially those that are about to fall or be detached since it poses imminent danger to life, health, property and safety of the public.

Included in the letter to Gaisano are the findings of the Department of Engineering and Public Works represented by Engr. Joel Reston along with Ylanan and Cebu Contractors Association President Peter Paul Dy.

The different parties conducted an ocular inspection last December 26.

They noted that the “parapet and structural parts of the fourth to seventh floors of portion of the building were heavily damaged and collapsed with the parapet dangerously hanging and may fall anytime.”

According to the three offices, they recommend that the parapet be removed immediately and the demolition of the collapsed portion to follow after removal of parapet and roofing.

They also noted that on the Leon Kilat side of the building, cracks were observed, with glass blocks broken and the parapet tilted. They recommended that this be immediately removed since it may pose more threats due to extreme heat.

In their recommen-dation, they added that after the removal of the structures, “a thorough structural investigation of the remaining structural parts of the building is recommended to intelligently assess the structural integrity of the burnt building.

Meanwhile, Cebu City fire marshal Aderson Comar clarified reports that they waited for almost four hours before guards of the department store let them in.

Comar said they received the alarm at 12:42 a.m. and arrived there within minutes. Seeing thick black smoke coming from the establishments receiving area, they immediately forcibly opened the roll-up doors.

The receiving area serves as the loading and unloading area for the mall’s deliveries and is located at the rear of the department store.

After they failed to control the fire in the receiving area, they asked for the main entrance to be opened and the store’s management immediately complied.

And since there were some areas of the building still on fire as of yesterday four of their fire trucks have already bogged down from non-stop operations.

“I still need to ask City Hall’s help to repair the fire trucks immediately,” he said.

The immediate vicinity of the department store is still being cordoned off from foot and vehicle traffic while power has not been restored to the same area. –/BRP (FREEMAN)