by Vanessa Knight – EM TV, Port Moresby
An electrical engineering company has suffered an untimely loss in the hundreds of thousands of kina, when its equipment storeroom caught on fire early this morning.
The fire started around seven o’clock in the morning, at the Eltech residence, located on Maho Street in Boroko.
Tenants at the residence, including women and children, said they were awoken by the sounds of minor explosions, and found the shed behind the main residential building, engulfed in flames.
Eltech Head of Maintenance, Natoy Gonzalez, who was at the scene, said the fire brigade arrived soon after and put the fire out. Fortunately, no one was injured.
The equipment lost to the fire include UPS batteries, welding machines, two industrial generators, industrial cables and other project materials belonging to Eltech and its sister company, Power Com.
The two Pilipino-owned companies specialise in electrical power engineering, and are currently under contract to carry out major electrical works in the country. Most of the material stored in the shed, were designated for already secured contracts.
The exact cost of machinery and materials lost in the fire cannot be established until the management has consulted with its insurance company; however it is estimated to amount to more than a hundred thousand kina.
Although the company is yet to find out how the fire started, the PNG Fire Service will be investigating the incident to establish the cause.
