Firefighters fear Divisoria mall fire may last days

As a fire that hit New Divisoria Mall in Manila's Divisoria area continued after more than eight hours Thursday, firefighters are bracing for the possibility the fire may last for days.

 

The fire was still at Task Force Charlie past 8 a.m., more than eight hours after the fire started shortly after midnight Wednesday, radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported.

 

The report said firefighters are not discounting it could be two to three days before the fire could be declared "out."

 

In March 2012, firefighters took four days to put out a fire that hit the Ever Grand Central mall in Caloocan City.

 

On Thursday, customers of a nearby bank branch were advised to transact with another branch, due to the thick black smoke from the mall, according to a separate dzBB report.

 

Firefighters said thick smoke continued to come from the mall's basement, which contained tenants' merchandise such as textiles and toys.

 

At least 45 fire trucks had arrived at the scene to help battle the blaze at the mall.

 

But firefighters said they had a hard time getting near even with a breathing apparatus.

 

Meanwhile, the Manila Police District deployed teams to watch against looters who may exploit the situation. —KG, GMA News