Probers yet to penetrate origin of Antique mall fire

By Jennifer P. Rendon and Joseph B.A. Marzan

Twenty-four hours after a huge fire hit a mall in San Jose, Antique, fire fighters have yet to penetrate the supposed origin of the conflagration.

Fire Senior Superintendent Jerry Candido, Bureau of Fire Protection 6 (BFP-6) regional director, said the fire at the Gaisano Grand Mall at Barangay 8, San Jose town may have erupted at the department store’s ladies wear section, which is in the western portion of the mall’s second floor.

The massive conflagration broke out at around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

As of Friday afternoon, BFP-6 firefighters have yet to slither through the area because the fire has yet to be completely put out.

On top of that, portions of the building might collapse and crush BFP personnel.

Thirty minutes since the fire engulfed Gaisano, which is the first mall in Antique province, BFP-Antique assessed that it has reached general alarm.

Candido said he immediately ordered the deployment of 22 fire trucks from all 18 towns of Antique.

Fire stations from four neighboring towns of Iloilo province; one from Iloilo City; and from Nabas, Aklan also responded.

Five fire trucks from the Federation Iloilo Fire Brigade Incorporated based in Iloilo City also went to Antique to help quell the fire.

Candido said the fire was declared under control at 10:56 p.m. of Thursday. Except for nearby towns of Antique, all other fire trucks were told to return to their stations.

“The remaining fire fighters are still combatting the fire until now,” he said.

Luckily, no one was hurt as there were not many shoppers when the fire broke out.

Candido said that it also helped that the mall’s fire alarm worked, and the building had functional fire exits.

 

CAUSE OF FIRE

Candido said they could not still rule if the fire was caused by short circuit of electrical wiring.

But he is not discounting such possibility since the circuit breakers were gobbled by the fire.

“Witnesses said that immediately after the fire broke out, the portion where it originated had collapsed. It spread quickly given that the area is full of combustible items,” he said.

The mall’s second floor has already collapsed Friday morning.

Around 40 percent of the building was still intact.

“I’m not a structural engineer but I think the building should be considered as condemned,” he said.

Candido said they could not also estimate the value of the damaged property as of now.

But on top of the damage the fire has caused to businesses, around 300 to 400 employees were rendered unemployed.

 

ASSISTANCE

Meanwhile, Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao said workers affected by the fire will receive cash and food aid from the provincial government.

Cadiao told Aksyon Radyo Iloilo that authorities also told her that the mall’s structure is now deemed “unsafe” and a “total wreck”, and that they would still examine the site to determine the exact cause of the fire.

She also debunked reports that the incident was a case of arson or deliberate burning.

Cadiao said she received calls and texts on Thursday from workers who fear losing their jobs.

She said that the province’s finance team initially allocated P1 million for assistance, but upon learning that the fire had affected up to 400 people, it was increased to P2 million.

Each worker will get up to P5,000 in cash assistance.

They will also receive one 25-kilogram sack of rice each, which were donated to the Antique provincial government.

Cadiao emphasized that all affected workers would be given help regardless of where they came from, as some of the workers were originally from neighboring provinces in Panay Island.

The governor admitted that the assistance is “not enough”, citing limited resources which was maximized for their coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response.

“We heal as one, we are one Panay, we are one Region 6. Even if that’s the case, we are all Filipinos. We will still give the P5,000 cash and 25 kilograms of rice each [to affected workers],” she said.

Cadiao said the mall was “loved by the people” and expressed disappointment over the effects of the incident as the province was gearing towards economic recovery from the current pandemic.

She said that she is getting in touch with the owners and the regional management of the mall to ask if it can be rebuilt, or there would be another mall to be built in another location for the sake of the workers.

“We called the Gaisano family and we are also getting in touch with the regional manager to ask them on what we would expect from them. If I was an employee working in Antique, that would have been the best, but should they wait? Is Gaisano willing to put up a bigger and wider structure, or they wouldn’t build anymore? That is so that the workers would know if they would expect to return to something,” she said.

She added that Antique Lone District Rep. Loren Legarda was also getting in touch with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for possible job and training assistance to the affected workers.