Morning fire destroys lodge, appliance center

CEBU, Philippines - An early morning fire hit a four-storey business establishment along Osmeña Boulevard Cebu City that destroyed a 28-room lodge and an appliance display center.

The Cebu City fire department responded to the alarm at 4:37 a.m. yesterday. The alarm was raised to Task Force Delta and was reportedly declared under control within 25 minutes.

It took them almost six hours though to completely put out the fire, which gutted down the Sandigan Lodge and Metro Appliance Centrum Plaza, Incorporated.

The damage of the fire was estimated at more than P500,000.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Daniel Relatado said that based on witnesses’ accounts, the fire started from a warehouse of an appliance company located at the ceiling of the first floor.

The lodge was made out of semi-concrete materials causing the fire to quickly spread to the upper floors destroying everything up until the third floor. The first and fourth were also damaged.

Fire investigators are still conducting further investigation for the possible cause of the fire and will be inviting witnesses.

Nicario Espinosa, who rented a room in the lodge, said that when he woke up, he noticed thick smoke in the next room so he immediately ran for safety.

He was supposed to be in the city to process the burial benefits of his dead mother but all the documents were destroyed in the fire.   

Edwin Lareta, cashier of Sandigan Lodge, said that out of the 28 rooms, 12 were occupied when the fire broke out yesterday.  (FREEMAN)