http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?in...&story_id=73151Dozens of firearms destroyed in Ft Bonifacio armory fireNo injuries reported
First posted 09:35am (Mla time) April 20, 2006
By Joel Francis Guinto
INQ7.net
DOZENS of firearms were destroyed after a fire razed two buildings inside the Philippine Army headquarters before dawn Thursday.
Army spokesman Major Bartolome Bacarro said sabotage had been ruled out and an initial investigation revealed that an electrical wiring fault had triggered the blaze.
The fire started at around 3:15 a.m. at the 9th Ready Reserve Division headquarters building and spread to the adjacent Regional Command Defense Group (RCDG) building, Bacarro said in a phone interview.
“We are ruling out sabotage. A security guard saw an electric spark at the 9th RR building before the fire,” he said.
Both buildings are only one storey tall and each is about as big as the grandstand fronting the Fort Bonifacio parade grounds, he said.
Some 30 M14 and M16 rifles were destroyed from an armory attached to the 9th Ready Reserve Division building while about 57 were salvaged from the fire, he said.
An inventory is still underway to determine how many firearms ere destroyed at the RCDG building, he said.
There were no reported injuries. The fire was put out at around 5 a.m., the spokesman said.