Fire hits Mandaue City Hall

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Fire struck the Mandaue City Hall early Thursday morning, June 11, razing its left wing that houses the offices of the vice mayor and the city council, and the headquarters of the city’s public information office.

Mandaue City Administrator James Jamaal Calipayan said in a Facebook post early Thursday that the fire began at 2:48 pm and was declared under control at 3:20 am.

Calipayan said one person sustained “non-critical” injuries while security personnel were being evacuated.

The Mandaue official said that the fire damaged an estimated 100 square meters of the Sangguniang Panglungsod offices, while the rest of City Hall suffered water damage. The last fire truck pulled out of the area at 4:30 am.

The Bureau of Fire Protection was still investigating the probable cause of the fire, he said.

“Usual and regular work at Presidencia Building will be suspended today in lieu of general cleaning and damage assessment for affected offices,” Calipayan said.

Due to the incident, electricity at the Mandaue City Hall will be temporarily unavailable.

“Employees in affected offices are still required to report to work with the Department of General Services in clean-up operations in the Presidencia,” Calipayan added.

It was the second fire in the area so far, this year.  In February, 3 people died in a fire near the Mandaue City Hall. – Rappler.com