By Yas D. Ocampo
DAVAO CITY – The Southern Mindanao office of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has relieved five fire officials in the wake of the lethal New City Commercial Center (NCCC) Mall blaze that left 38 dead.
Sr. Supt. Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu, BFP-11 director, identified the five as Supt. Honey Fritz Alagano, city fire marshall; Insp. Renero Jimenez, Talomo fire station commander; Fire inspector Leo Lauzon; Fire inspector Joel Quizmundo; and Roger Dumag, chief of the city’s Fire Safety Enforcement section.
Lauzon was fire inspector for Survey Sampling International (SSI), which lost 37 workers in the 32-hour fire, while Quizmundo had signed and recommended the approval of NCCC Mall’s fire safety compliance certificate.
The relief order was part of the recommendation of a task force formed to investigate the deadly fire.
The initial investigation of the task force created to probe the fire is also reportedly considering sanctions against SSI and NCCC Mall.
SSI reportedly did not connect the office fire alarm system to the centralized alarm of the mall.
The mall, on the other hand, had supposedly installed non-functioning fire alarms and sprinklers.