The Department of Public Works and Highways inspected the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge (first bridge) in Cebu after a huge fire broke out below the structure.
In an initial inspection, two of the bridge’s piers were found to be exposed to the blaze.
Piers 5 and 6, or the big posts of the bridge, were reported to be tainted with soot after having been exposed to the fumes.
Additional assessment will be done on the 50-year-old bridge, DPWH said.
“We’ll report it to the regional office, again, naa man gud sila’y mga tools to further assess the building, naa pa’y mga JICA tools nga gi-donate for checking para sa bridge (We’ll report it to the regional office, again, meron silang tools to further assess the building, meron pa silang mga JICA tools na i-dinonate for checking the bridge,” according to Engr. Justin Carlo Amoguis of DPWH Cebu 6th Engineering District–Maintenance Management Unit.
JICA stands for Japan International Cooperation Agency.
TWO-HOUR FIRE
A fire which took two hours to control broke out on March 12, 2024 below the bridge in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City.
The fire displaced informal settlers in Sitio UTB (Under the Bridge) and Sitio Bantayan sa Hari.
According to an initial list furnished by the barangay, the fire razed 386 houses that rendered homeless 516 families or 1,745 individuals.
The barangay council held a special session on March 13, 2024 leading to a declaration of a state of calamity.
As of posting time, the Bureau of Fire Protection is yet to determine the cause of the fire.
However, affected residents evacuated at the Looc barangay gym said that because the incident happened at around noontime, unattended cooking may have caused the fire.
