BFP begins NCCC Mall fire probe, won’t discount arson yet

As it begins its investigation into the deadly fire that consumed a Davao City mall last week, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said it will look into all possible causes for the blaze, including arson.

Fire broke out on the four-storey NCCC Mall on Saturday, killing at least 38 people, including employees of business process outsourcing firm Research Now SSI, who were trapped on the mall's top floor.

In an interview with Jiggy Manicad on QRT on Thursday, BFP Inter-agency Anti-Arson Task Force spokesperson Jerry Candido said that they have taken over the investigation and vowed to get to the bottom of the incident.

"During the case conference, we have discussed all the possible causes of fire and one of which is, of course we can't discount the possibility of arson," Candido said.

He clarified, however, that arson will only be considered once other possible causes have been discounted.

Candido said that the task force has conducted a walk-through of the mall, and has scheduled a meeting with all the witnesses.

He added that the owners of the mall, through their lawyers, are cooperating with the authorities.

On Friday, the team will retrieve available physical evidence to help with the investigation.

Candido said that they will soon find the answer to whether the building violated fire safety standards, and whether the fire safety equipment in the mall were functional.

"We will know ano 'yung cause, bakit maraming namatay. We will also determine whether or not functional ang mga fire safety equipment inside the building," he said.

"We commit that we will do our job, na we will get to the bottom of this," he added.

In a report on Balitanghali, GMA News' Mav Gonzales said the building has been cordoned off and a sign warning of falling debris has been put up ahead of the BFP's investigation.

Search and retrieval operations have also been suspended.

President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed that the "truth will come out" and that government will "chip in" for aid and compensation for the grieving families.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre also launched a criminal probe through the National Bureau of Investigation. — Jessica Bartolome and Virgil Lopez/BM, GMA News