JEDDAH, 19 November 2007 — A fire struck the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh yesterday, destroying at least one section of the main building, Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor said.
Villamor, however, described the damage as “minimal” and credited that to the Saudi Fire Department’s quick response.
In an interview by phone, he said the duty officer noticed noise and smoke coming from the second floor of the building at 5:15 a.m.
“The officer said he tried to fight the fire using an extinguisher but was repelled by the smoke. So he asked someone to seek help from the guards at the Canadian Embassy, which is just across the Philippine Embassy, in calling the Fire Department,” he said.
“The response was really quick. I was notified by phone at about 5:32 and when I arrived at the building, fire fighters were already in action. By 6 a.m., the fire was extinguished,” he said.
He said fire investigators blamed the fire on faulty wiring. Except for the flooding of the ground floor and the soot spreading in others parts of the second floor, only the political section suffered substantial damage, he said.
“Today, it will be business as usual at the embassy,” he said.
Embassies at the Diplomatic Quarter were on holiday from Saturday to yesterday in connection with the summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Riyadh.