November 27, 2015, 2:31p.m. – THE FIRE that hit a chicken restaurant at the Quadricentennial Pavilion last October was “accidental in nature,” fire investigators have ruled, but the food establishment had to install new equipment prior to reopening this week.
The Chicken Deli Restaurant was hit by fire on Oct. 9, with the blaze lasting for half an hour and reaching only first-alarm status, according to Insp. Efren Bereña of the Sampaloc Fire Station. No one was hurt during the incident, and damage was estimated at only P30,000.
According to a memorandum released by the Bureau of Fire Protection, the fire was caused by “sudden increased fire pressure from a high-pressured LPG stove suctioned by the exhaust duct, creating intense heat on the duct which, upon reaching its flashpoint, radiated to some combustible materials.”
The restaurant re-opened on Nov. 23 after owners took the following measures: replacement of the canvass connector with “neophrene” (a fire-redundant material), fabrication of a spark arrestor, installation of an awning window on one glass panel on the second floor for additional ventilation, addition of two fire extinguishers to bring the total to nine, and closer monitoring of ducting equipment and components especially during monthly preventive maintenance.
Senior Fire Officer 4 John Joseph Jalique declared the case closed last Oct. 19.
This was the second fire incident in UST in 2015, following the fire that broke out at St. Raymund de Peñafort Building last July. Clarence I. Hormachuelos
