NCCC Mall fire caused by electrical short circuit, prober says

Arson investigators looking into the deadly blaze in a mall in Davao City have concluded that an electrical short circuit was the cause of the fire.

Inter-agency Anti-Arson Task Force spokesperson Superintendent Jerry Candido said they have already received the analysis report of their arson laboratory on Wednesday night.

"Last night, we received the report and one of the pieces of physical evidence na finorward namin sa arson laboratory is the galvanized foilings na merong butas 'yon," Candido said in a phone interview with GMA News Online.

"We believe upon our ocular inspection na tinamaan 'yun ng short-circuit at doon talaga nag-start ang short circuit and it was confirmed by the laboratory test report that indeed there are traces of electrical arcing in the galvanized foiling that was submitted sa test and this scientific proof will finally confirm that indeed there was electrical short circuit na nangyari sa ceiling portion ng third floor, specifically doon sa alley between the furniture and fabric sections," Candido added.

A fire broke out at a furniture and fabric store on the third level of the New City Commercial Center (NCCC) on December 23 which then engulfed the office of Texas-based call center company Research Now SSI claiming 37 lives, including a mall security officer.

Violations

Candido said they also established that there were fire safety requirements violated, particularly on the fire exits, fire alarm and the sprinkler system.

"Upon our verification inspection marami kaming violations na nakita but we believe na it existed from the time the building was constructed until the fire occurred," he said.

"Number one doon yung fire exits, the fire exits in the mall were not properly enclosed, not sufficiently enclosed. Some of the exits were enclosed but the construction materials are not fire-rated. When you say fire rated, it can withstand the heat and the fire at least an hour. So ang kanyang door is not a fire door but a simply ordinary swing door," he added.

The NCCC Mall's fire doors according to Candido were not equipped with panic hardware, adding that the horizontal and vertical fire exits were not fully enclosed causing the smoke to engulf the top floor which prompted people to be trapped.

"Hindi siya panic door and ang ibang horizontal exit going to vertical exit has no full enclosures. So 'yun ang exit nila, that explains why people were trapped, the exits were not utilized simply because naunang pumasok yung init tsaka usok sa tao, so at the time that exits were about to be utilized hindi nga nagamit dahil mainit na at tsaka mausok," he said.

The alarm and fire sprinkler system of NCCC Mall also failed to function as they were in manual mode, which means there should be human intervention for the alarm sounds to go off.

"Sa third kasi sira talaga dahil walang sprinkler heads, tapos sarado yung floor control valve ...Every floor kasi may control valve 'yan eh, pag sinarado ng mall ang floor control valve sa third tsaka fourth, the sprinkler systems [are] nonfunctional," Candido said.

"Tapos yung kanilang alarm system at that time was not automatic, was not automatic, so ano yung proof, the proof is simple, sinarado nila yung floor control valve so ang mall talaga you are forced to comply the automatic alarm," he added.

"Kung automatic siya tutunog 'yan 'pag nakadama ng init o nakaamoy ng usok or nagflow yug sprinkler, yung tubig, ganun siya nag-initiate, so hindi 'yan, it's absent at the time in the fire incident," Candido said.

Missing SSI employee

Authorities are still conducting retrieval operations on the missing female employee of Research Now SSI identified as Alexandra Moreno Castillo.

Candido said they already have a clearance to conduct search operations on the point of origin where they are expecting to retrieve more bodies.

"Gagalawin na yan ngayong hapon na with a hope na may makitang dead body doon kasi kung may makitang dead body baka masolve na yung ating missing person," he said.

"So when we conducted the final walk through this morning, we noticed that in the fourth floor doon mismo sa SSI in the area where the bodies were found, we noticed na marami pang human bones na natira," he added.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has already issued indefinite suspension orders on the registration of Research Now SSI and NCCC Mall.

Meanwhile, at least five fire officials being questioned over the deadly fire have been relieved of their duties according to a report on Reuters. — RSJ, GMA News