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Friday, January 04, 2008
Fire hits Baclaran mall
MANILA -- A huge fire engulfed a shopping complex in Baclaran in Pasay City Thursday morning.
At 2:30 p.m. Thursday, firefighters were still battling the blaze that started at the ground floor and spread to the third floor of the Galleria Baclaran Shopping Mall along Taft Avenue, which mostly have stores selling flammable clothing items.
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The blaze raged for 10 hours affecting the operations of the Light Rail Transit (LRT).
Video footages showed thick black smoke billowing from the building as Philippine Air Force (PAF) Bell Huey helicopters carrying large water containers flew above helping douse the fires.
The fire was put under control at 3:45 p.m.
Mall closed
Authorities closed the immediate vicinity of the burning mall to give way for dozens of fire trucks from various fire stations in the metropolis that kept coming in.
Bureau of Fire Protections (BFP) Director Enrique Linsangan said the fire started at 5:52 a.m. He said the fire was caused by an overheating air-conditioning unit that was left turned on throughout the night although arson investigators are still looking into other possible causes of the fire.
Vendors in the mall belied speculations that a firecracker may have caused the fire, adding that most of the items being sold at the mall were T-shirts and other ready-to-wear (RTW) items.
Fifth alarm
The LRT management stopped train operations from Baclaran to Vito Cruz stations as the fire reached fifth alarm at 11 a.m., which means firefighters from other stations in Metro Manila including Marikina and Chinese-Filipino Fire Fighters Association are being called for assistance.
For safety reasons, LRT administrator Mel Robles said passengers were being transported from Monumento up to Gil Puyat stations only.
"The smoke is very thick so until authorities declare it is safe, the LRT will be operating only from Monumento station to Edsa station," he said.
Robles said three offices at the Baclaran station were affected by the fire.
"Operations of the affected stations would not be able to resume immediately after the fire is put out however until the electrical wirings of the three stations are checked for safety," Robles added.
Rey Bautista, a security guard of the LRT, said panic ensued when stall owners and employees who learned of the fire rushed in and tried to retrieve their goods.
"Others laid out tarpaulins from the third floor, where they could slide their merchandise down to the ground floor," he added.
Narrow passes
Fire investigator Renato Recto said firemen had difficulty putting out the fire because of the narrow passes leading to the building. Moreover, he said most of the firefighters had no gas mask.
Recto also complained of the presence of street vendors and residents hindering their operations.
Baclaran has been the subject of numerous sidewalk clearing operations conducted by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to get rid of illegal vendors but to no avail.
"No one was reported hurt but the damage to properties could have cost at least P91 million," the fire official said.
In a related development, volunteer firefighters criticized the BFP for not raising the alarm level as soon as the blaze got out of hand, saying they could have reached the area sooner thereby minimizing damage to the business establishment.
Several volunteers who likewise asked not to be named said they were only informed at past 9 a.m. when the fire had already engulfed the mall and threatened the safety of people in a nearby mall and the LRT, which was forced to halt its operations. (AH/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (January 4, 2008 issue)
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