Fire bureau rules out arson in Baguio City market blaze
THE BUREAU of Fire Protection (BFP) has concluded that the fire that burned down the Baguio City public market on March 11 was an accident, putting an end to speculations that the blaze was intended to pave the way for the proposed privation of the facility.
The final investigation report from the BFP head office says that the fire was triggered by the “embers of an unattended/discarded lighted cigarette that made contact with readily combustible materials at the bottom of the sack of clothes leading it to combust.”
City Fire Marshal Marisol H. Odiver, in a report to Baguio Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong dated June 14, 2023, said the BFP report was based on physical evidence and witnesses, and followed standards and procedures of fire and arson investigation.
The BFP recommended that the case be considered “closed” without prejudice to reopening a probe should there be new pieces of evidence and/or witnesses.— Artemio A. Dumlao
