Previous Story
DPS closes fire probe at MGM factory
|
Posted on Jan 18 2009
The investigation into the fire that broke out at the Marianas Garment Manufacturing in Chalan Piao last July 9 was closed as arson investigators concluded it was accidental.
Fire Prevention Section’s Firefighter 2 Dan Suel said after looking at all the evidence they concluded that the cause of the fire at MGM factory was faulty electrical wiring.
Suel said nobody was charged or cited for violation because those kind of fires, electrical fires, are considered accidental.
“Nobody is actually at fault. It’s not intentional,” Suel said.
He said in the particular area where the fire started there were a lot of combustible materials stored such as clothing, fabrics, and boxes.
Suel said they found that the electrical wiring snapped and fell down on the combustible materials.
He said it took them a while to complete the investigation because it was a major fire and that they gathered all the evidence before coming up with a conclusion.
“Actually we already had a conclusion several months ago, but I want to have all the documents into my office to make sure that our conclusion as complete as we can,” Suel added.
Arson investigators established that the fire had originated in the sewing section.
Due to heat transfer, the dormitory on the east side was also burned and sustained total loss. In addition, the four 40-footer containers were reportedly burned as a result of heat transfer.
The fire resulted in the evacuation of over 200 factory workers. Nobody was injured.
MGM deputy general manager Zeng Gengzin recently told the Department of Labor that the factory ceased active garment manufacturing last Dec. 8, but they are officially closing on Feb. 7.
