The Office of the Ombudsman has expressed concern over a fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bureau of Research and Standards (BRS) building in Quezon City, especially given the ongoing investigation into alleged flood control anomalies.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano released a statement confirming that Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to investigate the incident for any signs of foul play.

“The Ombudsman has directed the immediate coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Fire Protection to determine the cause of the fire and to establish whether arson or any deliberate act was committed,” the statement read.

Remulla said he was “disturbed” by the fire at the Quezon City facility, which is a repository for documents related to government infrastructure projects.

“Of course, it’s disturbing that in a place like Quezon City, the records of an office would burn down — an office that still needs to gather many pieces of evidence for investigations. So we’re just worried that it might ‘stifle’ some,” Remulla said.

He added that he was hopeful the fire was natural, noting that because it happened during a working day, people may have been able to save their computers and that backup documents should exist.

The BFP-NCR reported the incident occurred shortly after 12:50 p.m., reaching a third alarm by 12:56 p.m. It was declared under control by 1:34 p.m. and fire out at 1:49 p.m.

The affected building, situated along EDSA in Barangay Pinyahan, is where the DPWH BRS conducts research, studies, and pilot testing, and formulates policies for government infrastructure projects.

The DPWH quickly issued a statement confirming that no documents related to the ongoing flood control anomalies investigation were stored in the BRS building. The department stated that initial findings indicate the fire originated from a computer unit that reportedly exploded inside the Materials Testing Division.

The Materials Testing Division is responsible for ensuring the strength and standards of infrastructure like bridges and buildings before projects are approved. According to a source for DAILY TRIBUNE, the division was also where the ex-wife of Bulacan acting district Engineer Brice Hernandez was assigned until she resigned in September.