ONE of the employees of House Technology Institute (HTI) in Cavite who obtained severe burns after a fire broke out in its factory last Wednesday has died Saturday, Cavite Governor Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
Remulla said Jerome Sismaet, who worked as a line leader at HTI factory, died at around 11:30 p.m., February 4 at the Divine Grace Hospital.
Sismaet was among the persons who were in critical condition following the fire that engulfed the HTI factory situated in Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) II in General Trias, Cavite on Wednesday around 5 p.m.
Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director general Charito Plaza said based on the accounts of his factory employees, Sismaet guided and let his co-employees get off first from the burning building before he did.
"He is a hero, being one of the line leaders na tinulungan munang maka-evacuate ang mga kasama niya bago siya lumabas," she said.
Meanwhile, Plaza claimed that there is "no other casualty in the fire," and that all 3,500 employees of the factory "have been accounted for."
She said of the 104 injured employees, 39 are still being treated in the hospital while the others were already sent home.
She said the PEZA is awaiting for the result of the investigation being conducted by the Philippine National Police–Scene of the Crime Operatives after the burnt building was turned over to them by the Bureau of Fire Protection. (SunStar Philippines)