FIRE broke out at Hong Yuan Department Store, a clothes retail shop in Garapan, on Sunday morning.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services said it was still trying to determine the cause of the fire, which remains under investigation.
According to DFEMS, on Jan. 14 at approximately 9:12 a.m., multiple callers stated that there was a possible structure fire at Hong Yuan.
At 9:13 a.m., Forestry-4, Engine-2, Medic-2, Forestry-2, Engine-5, and Rescue-1 responded to the location.
Forestry-2 was the first unit to arrive at the scene, DFEMS Public Information Officer Robert Mojica said.
“Once on scene, the arriving unit conducted scene size up and reported that the whole first floor of the building was affected by the fire. [The firefighters] ensured that anyone on the second floor was evacuated,” Mojica said.
“When the other units arrived on the scene, firefighters geared up and…[entered]…the front of the building [while] others [circled] the building, ventilating the windows on the sides. A back door was discovered where another fire in the building was raging, and a second entry was [utilized] to battle the fire,” he added.
By 10:12 a.m., the shift commander, Fire Captain John Mettao, and crewmembers on the scene had the fire under control.
Division of Fire and Prevention and Arson Investigation investigators also arrived on the scene and assessed the cause of the fire.
“At this time the cause of fire remains under investigation and will be determined at a later date,” Mojica said.
