On the night of February 25, 2017 at around 7 o’clock, a fire struck at the Hyundai administration office adjacent to the CMC building.
The incident was noticed by SG Noli Villanueva who is posted at the Dialysis-OPD. He saw thick smoke coming from the roof and thought it was from the OPD parking area. He then immediately alerted all guards assigned at CMC for assistance. The guards responded promptly and proceeded to the area with the fire extinguishers. The blaze started at the mezzanine floor of Hyundai office, reaching the level where it cannot be suppressed by fire extinguishers. As an Officer In-Charge and the first to witness the incident, I instructed the Information to call the Bureau of Fire & Protection (BFP) and the local government agencies/offices for immediate support.
The incoming and outgoing security personnel joined forces and exerted all possible means to avoid damages to CMC property. One measure for us to assess the extent of the fire is to climb the roof of the maintenance section. S.O. Cisneros and I were surprised to see the fire rapidly spreading towards CMC oxygen tanks storage. My judgment call is to sound the general alarm to notify CMC staff and personnel as well as patients about the incident and prevent a disastrous eventuality. A few seconds, we heard the fire alarm sound at the 4 CMC buildings.
We were relieved by the sight of firemen crawling to our area with their water hoses. They aimed the fire hose directly to the affected area. Subsequently, we saw several fire volunteers and brigade teams from different cities. Firemen were visible all over the place to suppress the blaze. Our maintenance, security staff, housekeeping staff, nurses, doctors, personnel were able to hold their ground at the 4th floor CMC 5 building. They stood gallantly breaking several fire hose cabinets to help restrain the fire which started to lick the wall of the Ultrasound area. The hospital and medical staff were able to assist all patients, relatives and visitors who were evacuated at the CMC evacuation area (parking lot) and at the main lobby to ensure their safety.
The fire was under control after several minutes. BFP–OIC declared the fire out at around 7:55 pm. After checking and clearing all the floors affected by smoke, patients were safely returned to their respective rooms.
