DENR 7'S BANILAD OFFICE FIRE DESTROYS P5M WORTH OF STRUCTURES, VEHICLES

The DENR had plans to convert the destroyed buildings to a guest house.

Former coastal resource office, Bureau of Lands were destroyed Laboratory of Mines and Geosciences Bureau sustained minor damage

At least P5 million worth of structures and vehicles were destroyed by a fire that hit the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 office in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City at dawn yesterday.

Dr. Eddie Llamedo, DENR 7 public information officer, said that the fire destroyed the old buildings where the Integrated Coastal Resource Management Project (ICRMP) and the Bureau of Lands held office.

The building had been abandoned after the two offices transferred to the DENR 7’s new headquarters in Barangay Lahug two years ago.

Two other offices, namely the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources office and a labo- ratory owned by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, were hit by the fire but only sustained minor damage.

Four vehicles, two privately-owned and two government-issued, parked near the buildings were also destroyed by the fire.

Llamedo said that even though the destroyed building was abandoned, they recently conducted repairs and the agency planned to convert it into a guest house.

He said that aside from waiting for the official report from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), their office is also conducting an inventory to determine if there were important documents and equipment destroyed by the fire.

Response

The Mandaue City Fire Station (MCFS) received information that a fire broke out in Green Plains Subdivision in Banilad at 2:59 a.m.

SFO3 Arnold Lao, chief for operations of MCFS, said the fire started in the middle part of the ICRMP building and immediately spread to the neighboring edific- es.

“Di kalikayan. Duna’y government vehicles naapil. Nag- parking man duol sa building kining mga sakyanan naapil sa sunog (Government-owned vehicles were parked near the blazing buildings. These were damaged),” Lao said.

Melissa Cabahug, information officer of the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau 7, said that the old Day Care Center of the DENR 7 was destroyed.

The fire was under control at 4:20 a.m. and was put out after more than four hours.

MCFS categorized the incident as a third alarm.

Mabolo Fire Sub-Station, Talamban Fire Sub-station, Fil-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade, Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation, Bantay Mandaue and fire volunteers in the different barangays in Cebu City helped MCFS.

No one was injured during the incident.