Saturday, July 28, 2007 AirPhil employees play real-life heroes
TWO employees of Air Philippines, one of the country's major domestic carriers, played heroes when a fire broke out in a hotel in Ozamis City recently.
Allan Batiquin, AirPhil officer-in-charge in its Ozamiz City station, saved the lives of three children who were trapped inside a room on the third level of Plaza Beatriz, which was hit by fire on July 16.
Batiquin, who used to be with Davao station before his assignment in Ozamis City, was with another AirPhil employee, Donn Tabale, duty manager of the airline's Manila station, when the incident happened.
The two were resting in their hotel room on July 16 at around 10:45 p.m., when they noticed a smoke coming from the ceiling of their room.
When they opened the door, they were shocked to see thick, black and suffocating smoke filling the hallway.
They crawled on the floor from the 2nd floor all the way to the ground floor, bringing only their wallets, watches and cellphones with them.
They did not have time to bring their clothing as thick smoke already engulfed their room.
Upon reaching the ground floor, there was pandemonium and the two AirPhil employees found out from the hotel clerks that there were still guests upstairs and were told three children were trapped in Room 308.
Batiquin, without thinking of saving his skin, life and limb, rushed to the third floor, found the room amidst the thick black smoke, kicked the locked door open and found the hapless children inside the room.
Batiquin, soaked towels he found in the room with water, covered the children and led them downstairs.
Tabale, on the other hand, led the other guests to safety.
Both suffered bruises as they went back to break some window glasses to let the thick black smoke out of the hotel rooms. The firefighters arrived soon after.
Batiquin and Tabale were in Ozamiz after Air Philippines' maiden flight last July 8, or almost after a decade after PAL's last flight to Ozamiz.
Tabale, on temporary assignment, and Batiquin, as OIC, are handling and assisting in the airline's operation in that city.
