BARELY a day after giving Ayala Center Cebu a go-signal to resume operations, the Bureau of Fire Protection has advised management from opening the establishment to the public.
BFP officials with engineers from Metro and Ayala, who went to check the building Monday, January 8, found that it will be dangerous for the mall to open its doors while the cooling tower is still present.
"Ni-recommend natin sa Ayala na wag muna mag open kasi pwedeng bumagsak yung itaas, pag bagsak maaring matamaan yung mall nila," Senior Superintendent Samuel Tadeo, BFP Central Visayas regional director, said on Tuesday, January 9.
The cooling tower is a heavy equipment used to cool large buildings. Metro Ayala Department Store and Supermarket's cooling tower is located in the sixth floor.
But Tadeo said the tower is likely to collapse and once it does, it will affect the Ayala mall.
"Sixty tons ang bigat ng cooling tower and nag-install na sila ng cranes para i-pull out yun," Tadeo said.
The fire official assured that their priority is the public's safety. "Unahin natin ang safety ng tao kasi visible na nakatagilid talaga siya."
Clean up operations by Ayala Center were likewise postponed until the issue on the cooling tower has been resolved.
Cebu Holdings Inc., in a statement Monday, said Ayala Center mall, will not resume operations unless it is able to thoroughly clean the main mall and completed a full systems check.
In their inspection, BFP 7 officials and engineers of the mall also saw the damage on the second floor of the department store.
“It was not damaged by fire. But there’s water damage and it’s really dilapidated and cannot be used anymore,” Tadeo said. The composite investigation team of the BFP also started interviewing the workers who were present when the fire hit the toys section of the third floor of Metro Ayala.
“This is to help our investigators in finding out the cause of the fire,” Tadeo said.
He said he will check with their national headquarters if they can prioritize the results of the forensic and micro-electro analysis of the debris, ash and electric wires collected from the fire scene.
BFP investigators will continue to get affidavits from representatives of the mall.
In the ongoing investigation, Tadeo admitted that the initial estimate of P100 million worth of damage may increase as they have yet to receive the documents from Metro Ayala.
Meanwhile, BFP 7 will file charges against the thief who stole cash and gadgets from two fire officers.
Tadeo said the act hurt them because the thieves took advantage of the firemen who responded to the fire alarm in Metro Ayala on Friday evening.
“We will really file a case against him. Who would expect that someone would do that?” Tadeo said.
