Arson ruled out in Star City fire

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has officially ruled out arson as the cause of the fire that razed the Star City amusement park in October.

The blaze was caused by an overheated light ballast, Senior Superintendent Geranndie Agonos said, citing the final investigation report of the inter-agency anti-arson task force.

“Hindi po sinadya (It was not deliberate),” he said in a statement yesterday.

Star City, in a separate statement, said the fire started at the Try Your Luck game booth.

The fire was due to the “overheating of one of the ballasts that was attached to a fluorescent light above the booth,” Star City said.

The amusement park added that “investigators also found that the ballast malfunction was due to normal wear and tear or deterioration, which prompted the BFP to conclude that the fire was accidental and to declare the case closed.”

Star City’s management earlier cried foul over reports that arson was involved in the incident.

In yesterday’s statement, the amusement park said the fire clearance certificate “negates premature, unfounded insinuations that the fire was caused by arson.”

According to initial reports, the fire started in the stockroom of the Snow World building.

The fire lasted around 14 hours, reached Task Force Bravo and destroyed nearly 90 percent of the amusement park.

The damage caused by the fire was pegged at around P1 billion.

Reports following the fire said the park’s chief engineer ruled out the possibility of electrical overload as the power supply was turned off.

The final report of the BFP differed from the earlier findings of Pasay’s fire department.

Paul Pili, Pasay fire marshal, said the fire was “not normal” since both sides of the amusement park were burning by the time firefighters arrived. 

He said the presence of gasoline was detected at one of the rides and cotton was brought into the park the day before the fire.

Star City’s management, however, downplayed the finding, saying gasoline was needed for some rides.