Fire officers mum on what caused Ororama fire

November 1, 2008

ororama fire

By Lizanilla J. Amarga

Fire officers are stepping up their investigation on what actually caused the fire that gutted the four-storey Ororama MegaCenter last Tuesday that left many jobless and loss of capital for small traders who were former tenants of the mall.
However, local top firemarshal Richard Baang and FO2 Diosdado Clarion were mum on the initial results of their investigation saying they do not want to pre-empt its final findings particularly on the issue on whether or not the fire was set off deliberately.
Baang nevertheless said they have created a composite team which is not only just checking out the possible angles on how the fire started like on the electrical wirings
and fire debris but are conducting several iinterrogations on the Ororama MegaCenter personnel.
He said they are questioning and verifying the answers of the store’s aircon technician Antonio Omacas, engineering department staff Rein Pajente and Ronald Baron and security guard Marcos Melencio, the guard on duty at that time.
He added that they are also working on reports that an explosion was heard just before the whole building was on fire.
Clarion for his part said the fire seems to have spread so quickly all over the entire massive Ororama MegaCenter building as it used the electrical wires that connected one end and one floor of the building to the other.
He added that they have also observed the absence of a working water sprinkler inside the department store structure.
The composite team members were immediately deployed at first light last Wednesday just after the whole building was declared to be fire-free on 1:00 a.m. that day or only after 25-hours of fighting the fire.
Meanwhile, four former Ororama MegaCenter cellular phone store tenants who disclosed that they pay at least P300 a day rent to Ororama are requesting See Hong to atleast give them some capital to restart their business.
The tenants, however, said they cannot say for certain whether the P300 per day included any insurance coverage considering that they too admit that it is such a meager amount.
This nevertheless did not stop one of the tenants from voicing suspicions that the entire incident was actually orchestrated as he cited how the Ororama Cogon branch had already went through two fire incidences and this week’s Ororama MegaCenter fire incident was the second time.
“Ngano ang Gaisano ug ang Limketkai dili man sila sige kasunogan? Ngano ang Ororama raman?,” he said adding that it is also uncanny that the fire started just after midnight.
Meanwhile, City Councilor Ramon Tabor lamented how the incident happened when it is already near Christmas and that many will be now left jobless.
He voiced hopes that these workers particularly those in the rank and file will be absorbed in the other Ororama branches or will be able to find jobs with the help of City Hall’s Philippine Employment Service Office (PESO).