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Tuesday, January 01, 2008
9 hurt in Bocaue firecracker explosion
MANILA -- At least 10 stores were destroyed in a fire caused by firecracker explosion in Bocaue, Bulacan Monday morning.
Nine persons were injured in the fire that started 10 a.m. Monday in Barangay Turo in Bocaue town, the country's firecracker capital.
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Reports identified one of the injured victims as Chris Pineda who suffered head and arm injuries. Pineda is among the two crew members of the GMA television network who were wounded in the incident.
Bocaue Police Chief Rizalino Andaya said the fire reached fourth alarm before it was placed under control at 11 a.m.
Investigation revealed that a lighted cigarette allegedly triggered the fire.
Aside from the stalls, the fire also damaged two vehicles.
Fire investigators are still looking into the incident.
"They sounded like bombs," businesswoman Rebecca Santiago told The Associated Press, describing the firecracker blasts, which shattered glass windows in her three-story building.
Santiago said that when she saw one stall catch fire she rushed to bring her three grandchildren out of her nearby building to safety. As they ran away, she heard successive blasts from the burning stalls that shook the ground.
TV footage showed two villagers trying to douse the fire in two stalls with extinguishers. A powerful explosion later rocked a nearby stall, prompting them to run away with fleeing shoppers. Some villagers snapped pictures of the inferno, while village guards directed traffic away.
Last Saturday, dozens of stores were also destroyed in a fire caused by firecracker explosion in Rosario town in Cavite province.
An eight-year-old girl, Jaidilyn Sagpao, said she saw 31-year-old disabled Albert Espinosa throwing cigarette at one of the stores selling firecrackers, causing the fire at 12:25 a.m. Saturday.
Authorities questioned Espinosa on the incident.
Rosario Mayor Jose Ricafrente Jr. said Espinosa would be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) "for drug testing" even as he ordered the banning of lighting firecrackers in the town to welcome the New Year.
"We are prohibiting firecrackers. We are going to turn him (Espinosa) over to the DSWD for the drug testing so that we are going to determine if he needs to undergo rehabilitation and possible rehabilitation," he said.
Despite warnings by Philippine health officials, many superstitious Filipinos continue to usher in the New Year with powerful firecrackers, believing that noisy celebrations -- largely influenced by Chinese tradition -- drive away evil and misfortune.
More than 900 people were injured by firecrackers and gunfire during celebrations a year ago between Christmas 2006 and New Year 2007.
This season, the Health Department has recorded 134 people injured so far by firecrackers and one by a stray bullet since December 21 despite authorities' crackdown on powerful firecrackers and celebratory firing of guns. (JRDB/VR/Sunnex/With AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (January 1, 2008 issue)
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