Fire hits Robinsons Tacloban

Tacloban’s biggest mall is gutted down by the blaze.

TACLOBAN CITY — The Robinsons Mall in Barangay Marasbaras here caught fire late Wednesday, displacing many tenants two months before Christmas time as the blaze lasted for 15 hours in the biggest fire to hit the city this year and perhaps the longest in over a decade.

The fire started shortly after 5:30 p.m. based on the accounts of many witnesses who were in the mall when the fire broke out.

Fire inspector Jemar Mesiona, deputy fire marshall of Tacloban Central Fire Station, said the operations center received a call from the management of Gerry’s Grill restaurant at 5:46 p.m. and immediately it sent the first responders.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“We cannot give details yet on the origin of the fire since it is still under investigation,” Mesiona said.

He said that when the responders arrived at the scene, other stores were already burning.

By 8:13 p.m., the fire alarm level reached Task Force Alpha, hence transferring the command to the regional director of the Bureau of Fire Protection. 21 municipalities, all from the towns of Leyte, responded to the alarm, bringing with them 39 fire assets including ambulances, tankers and fire trucks.

The fire was put under control at 11:23 in the evening while fire out was declared at 9:03 a.m. Thursday.

Mesiona said among the reasons why the fire lasted 15 hours was because they had to contain the materials fueling the fire which was worsened when the fire hit a large hardware store. He added that they could not get inside because of concrete walls and there was not enough ventilation.

Fire Chief Inspector Joelito Sabandal, the city fire marshall, estimates 30 percent of the mall were damaged while other responding fire officers’ estimate was as much as 80 percent of the mall.

He said they could not ascertain the amount of damage yet because the investigation remains ongoing and they have still to talk to the store owners to determine the extent of damage.

No injuries were reported on the part of BFP personnel and civilians.