|
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Editorial: In the blink of an eye
BECAUSE of the tragic - and untimely - death of the eight women in the fire, which razed the Popong's Grocery Store located in Consunji Street in the City of San Fernando, the families of the victims are now contemplating on filing charges against the store's owner.
This decision may not have been easy on the part of the victims' kin, but it was a decision that has to be made nevertheless, if only to appease their anguish.
They are not to be blamed, considering the fact that their loved ones were burned beyond recognition. They are not to be blamed for their grief is insurmountable, their ache unbearable. They are not to be blamed because people they loved were taken away from them in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps, it would have been easier had the victims' cries for help were not heard. But the people witnessing the fire, as well as firefighters trying to contain the blaze, heard these cries.
It was probably heart-wrenching for those who heard the shrieks from within the building. What more for the victims' relatives?
What could have gone wrong with this incident, we ask? There were many factors which hindered the early containment of the fire and which led to the death of the victims, as observed by many.
Is not the City of San Fernando fire station a mere stone's throw away from Popong's?
Is it not true that that there was low water pressure in the area, the reason why fire spread quickly where the victims were trapped in the fourth floor?
Is it not true that the store did not have an alternate fire escape in the fourth floor, and that the only fire escape the building has is located in the second floor where the fire started?
Is it not true that the store had "illegal structures" which made it a fire hazard?
There are a lot more reasons going around the grapevine in connection with this tragedy. People are quick to observe these factors, which if given immediate action, would have prevented the loss of lives.
But alas, we could only hope.
Let immediate action be done, concerned officials and agencies. Let's not save our own skins and do finger pointing as to who is at fault here. Investigate and persecute.
It's the least thing anyone could do - for the victims and their families.
(October 5, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
