TACLOBAN CITY – A three-hour fire broke out at the premises of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation (PASAR) in the town of Isabel in the province of Leyte.
The fire reportedly started at around 6 a.m. on Monday and was declared under control at around 9 a.m.
PASAR is the only copper smelter plant in the country and located at the Leyte Development Industrial Estate in Isabel town.
It has the tightest security in the region as it produces copper cathodes and in the process of extracting copper, it also extracts significant amount of raw gold and other precious metals.
Isabel Fire Marshall Inspector Hermes Cadion said in a phone interview that based on their investigation, the cause of fire was the electrostatic precipitator.
Electrostatic precipitator (ESP), or electrostatic air cleaner, is a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas (such as air) using the force of an induced electrostatic charge. Electrostatic precipitators are highly efficient filtration devices that minimally impede the flow of gases through the device, and can easily remove fine particulate matter such as dust and smoke from the air stream.
Eleven fire trucks from PASAR, its neighboring company Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp., and from the towns of Isabel, Merida, Kananga, and Ormoc City responded to the fire scene.
Cadion added that the estimated cost of damage reaches to about P15 million.
He added that no workers or individuals were injured in the accident.
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