RAIN WATER dripping into calcium
carbide (kalburo) being used to ripen fruit in a Virac bodega sparked a minor
fire last Christmas day that sent firemen into action.
Fire arson investigator FO2
Dennis Tadoy said that at 8.50am of Dec. 25, FO1 Juvy Ann Bonaobra of the Virac
Fire Station received a text message from a certain Roquesa Sarmiento that a
fire was ongoing at barangay Concepcion.
The station immediately
dispatched two fire engines manned by duty personnel to the residential building
being used as a storage room by its owner, Virginia Benavidez.
The firemen found the blaze still
in its initial or incipient stage and extinguished it, with the incident
causing damages of more or less P5,000.
Initial investigation showed that
the fire originated from a stack of fruits filled with “kalburo” and located at
the left side of the stock room. Rain water dripping from the roof accidentally
dropped into the chemical powder, causing a spontaneous chemical reaction that
ignited.
Mainly used in the production of
the flammable gas acetylene, calcium carbide (CaC2) is used in some countries,
including the Philippines, as an artificial ripening agent.
But the use of the chemical as a
ripening agent is banned in many nations as industrial-grade calcium carbide
contains traces of phosphorus and arsenic, which makes it a human health
concern.
The main ripening agent legally
used by fruit exporters is the chemical ethylene which is sprayed on the green
fruit prior to packing and shipping. – Catanduanes Tribune
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