A fire razed the Port of Manila building of the Bureau of Customs at South Harbor, Port Area, Manila Friday.
The blaze, verified at 9:10 p.m., reached the fifth alarm before it was totally extinguished at 7:10 a.m. yesterday.
Initial report revealed that the fire broke out on the third floor, where important documents are housed, and spread down to second floor of the building.
Two Customs employee were reported injured in the fire.
Arnold Malit, 39, sustained a slight burn on his right arm; while Ning Hardman, 40, suffered breathing difficulties.
Although the extent of damage is yet to be disclosed, the BoC management assured continuity of PoM operations.
Customs spokesperson Atty. Ding Austria said that the Formal Entry Division will be temporarily housed at the BoC gymnasium while other offices affected by the fire will be transferred to a nearby area in the meantime.
The BoC will also coordinate with Philippine Ports Authority, Maritime Industry Authority, and the port operator, among others, for possible use of their offices for Customs personnel.
“This is the immediate concern and priority of the Commissioner,” Austria said.
Austria said no important documents were lost in the fire.
Austria said that “very varied” types of documents could be found at the offices affected by the fire, the PoM, Deputy Commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group, Deputy Commissioner for Revenue Collection Monitoring Group, and Assistant Commissioner for Post Clearance Audit Group.
He assured that none of those had been lost since the BoC was able secure soft copies of PoM files.
“We have storage facilities for documents. We remove files from the port building on a regular basis,” Austria said. “Our ICT building is located in a different building within the BoC compound…hence, no important PoM documents will be lost,” he added.
Meanwhile, a fire hit Gate 1 of the nearby Parola Compound in Tondo a few hours after the PoM blaze.
Seven hundred families lost their homes and around P1.5 million worth of properties were damaged, the Bureau of Fire Protection-Manila said.
Firefighters put out the fire at 6:20 a.m. yesterday.
Further investigation is underway to determine the cause of the back-to-back fire incidents, Manila arson investigation chief Capt. Lucio Albaracin said. (Ria Fernandez)
