Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar announced that structural assessment will be conducted by DPWH to determine the degree of damage of the recent fire incident at the Phippine General Hospital (PGH) Building in Taft Avenue, Manila.
Secretary Villar said that mapping of damage to the structure will be immediately carried out by the DPWH once the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has given the PGH management the go signal to proceed with clearing of the affected fire areas at the third floor service wing building.
Secretary Villar together with Secretary Carlito Galvez, Secretary Vince Dizon, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, DPWH Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, PGH Director Dr. Gerardo D. Legaspi, and DPWH Directors Eric Ayapana and Aristarco Doroy conducted on Monday, May 17, 2021 visual observation of physical influence from the fire at the PGH third floor operating room complex particularly in the area where sterilizer machine and stocks of linen, and other essential supplies are located.
Secretary Villar has earlier instructed Undersecretary Sadain, head of the DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local/National Health Facilities to organize a rapid assessment team to check structural integrity of concrete structures after the fire and determine the safety level and the best engineering solution from an economic point of view.
Undersecretary Sadain said that the choice of action or recommendation concerning how to restore especially the fire exposed or highly affected section of wall, column, beam or deck slab will be based on the more detailed assessment of the status of the structure by the DPWH composite team from National Capital Region, South Manila District Engineering Office, Bureau of Construction, Bureau of Research and Standard, and Bureau of Quality and Safety.
If given access by BFP and PGH by tomorrow, DPWH workers are also ready to assist the hospital management in the clean-up operations while the full extent of the damage wrought by the fire is simultaneously being assessed by the technical personnel using core drilling and a battery of laboratory tests of structural durability with initial report of findings target to be completed by early next week, added Undersecretary Sadain.
Although initial visual assessment of fourth floor roofdeck shows no significant damage on the slab, drilled cores can provide more detailed assessments, said Undersecretary Sadain.
