Firefighters rush back to Looc in Mandaue City, hours after Friday's fire declared 'fire out'

CEBU, Philippines - Mandaue City firemen spent 12 hours before finally putting off a midday fire Friday in Sitio Superior, Barangay Looc only to find out that the fire "rekindled" yesterday morning.

Personnel of the Mandaue City Fire Department once again rushed to the fire site 9 a.m. yesterday to combat the rekindling blaze, according to Senior Fire Officer 2 Wilfredo Romero.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, firemen were still at the fire scene in Looc to closely monitor the area where a warehouse serving as storage of "highly combustible materials" was located.

Romero said investigation revealed that the fire started in the middle portion of a factory owned by Dionisio Chua and then quickly spread to different directions, engulfing a warehouse and a two-story apartment and partly damaging two residential houses and a machine repair shop.

Workers at the warehouse said they were eating lunch when they heard loud explosions and subsequently saw galvanized irons going up into the air and black smoke was coming out of the warehouse.

The intense heat catapulted paint canisters to as high as 70 feet into the air with the canisters exploding in midair and spraying down paint, prompting authorities to drive residents away from the area. Several people were hit by the falling canisters but no one was seriously injured.

The incident caused heavy traffic and responding firemen found it difficult to immediately penetrate the congested area.

Classes from the nearby Comprehensive National High School had to be suspended.

Residents there lamented that the factory should put up a "firewall", considering that its products are mostly made out of combustible materials.

According to Romero, the origin of fire is still under investigation although authorities have confirmed there were no reported casualties.

In an interview, City Social Welfare Services chief Violeta Cavada said so far they have listed only 20 families who are now temporarily living with their relatives after the fire. None of the affected families, she added, has sought temporary shelter at the barangay gym.

Cavada also said the city cannot declare a state of calamity in Sitio Superior because only a few residents were affected.

She said it is only the barangay that can declare a state of calamity and that the calamity fund would have to come from the barangay.

Damage of fire was pegged at P1 million.  (FREEMAN)