Massive Fire Tears Through 100-Year-Old Post Office In Manila In The Philippines

Massive fire tears through 100-year-old post office in Manila in the Philippines
The fire started in the basement of the Manila Central Post Office and took fire crews seven hours to control the flames. One person was slightly injured and the historic landmark has been heavily damaged. An investigation is underway to find the cause of the fire, officials have said.

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Don

Very disheartening. The post office was also severely damaged in the battle for Manila during WW2 and rebuilt in 1946. It was built in 1926.

You should never heat your chai on an open fire when in a structure.

very sad to see something like this.

yes - very painful - such a classic and important building - hope it can be resurrected

Pics from the Manila Engineering Office



https://twitter.com/_katrinadomingo...1601/photo/1

Just looking at it, the building may be done. The fire may have permanently damaged the structural integrity of its support system. Kinda like the fire in the WTC caused the buildings to fall long after the planes hit them - the heat took the strength out of the supporting steel structure. If I had to put money on it, I would say the building needs to come down. Too bad - it was a beauty. Perhaps they can rebuild a duplicate?

I actually think that the structure is OK. It appears to be entirely CIP concrete which should not have been impacted by the fire. The spalled material you see is plaster used as finishing. That being said the cost will still be enormous. MEP systems, hazardous materials remediation and historically correct finishes will be high cost. The structure is actually the least valuable portion of a project in many cases. A rebuilt PO will also need to be brought up to code.

The big thing in the photos is NO EVIDENCE OF ANY FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM. Kind of shocking but it is the Philippines. Still, it would have been worth its weight in gold.