By JONATHAN HICAP
A fire hit a paper craft factory inside the medium security camp of New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City early yesterday morning.
According to Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the fire broke out at about 2:50 a.m. at the upper rear portion of the Samsung factory.
Senior Inspector Adriano Reyes of the BuCor immediately called the BuCor Operations Center for the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to respond to the situation.
Samsung has an existing contract with BuCor since 1990 employing prisoners to create and design decorative paper crafts for local and export trade.
At 3 a.m., BuCor shut down the electrical lines at the facility and by 3:20 a.m. BFP fire trucks arrived.
The fire reached fourth alarm at 3:34 a.m. and was put under control at about 6:52 a.m.. Fire out was declared at 8:40 a.m..
A BuCor official, according to the Muntinlupa City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, suspects that the fire started from the facility’s electrical wiring as circuit breakers were not turned off.
BuCor declared that all 5,820 inmates were accounted for.
Estimated cost of damage to the property is still being determined.
