Firemen battle Philippine mall blaze

MANILA: Firefighters struggled to put out a huge fire razing a shopping mall in the central Philippines as thick, hazardous fumes engulfed the four-storey building, officials said.

The fire began on Friday evening on the third floor of the Metro Ayala Center in Cebu City, 571km south of Manila, and was still raging more than 12 hours later.

“We were told that everyone was able to get out, but this still has to be verified,” said Superintendent Vonrad Fernando Dobluis, assistant regional director of the Bureau of Fire Protection.

Dobluis said firefighters were having difficulty putting out the fire because of the thick smoke. “We are flooding the ground floor and basement to help cool the building,” he told Manila radio station DZMM.

“We have also broken into the malls roof to help clear the fumes inside.”

Residents near Cebu Business Park, where the mall is located, were urged to take precautions against the smoke.

Anyone living or staying near Cebu Business Park with cardio-vascular problems is advised to temporarily evacuate due to toxic fumes from the ongoing fire, said Naciel Banacia, chief of the city’s disaster risk management office.

Banacia said firefighters and emergency teams were now exhausted and needed reinforcement.