A fire at First Pacific Coast Plaza condominium broke out last April 29th in Paranaque City. The fire unfortunately resulted in the death of 1 tenant, while 6 other residents were lightly injured and taken to the hospital. Recent investigations point towards the fire beginning due to a thrown-away cigarette.
Photo courtesy of Marianne Bermudez / Inquirer
The fire began on the 21st floor but extended down to the 18th floor. It also reached the top of the building, on the 23rd floor. Aside from the aforementioned residents, 2 dogs were also rescued on the 21st floor.
The Bureau of Fire Protection is now considering the cause of the fire as a cigarette improperly disposed of by a Chinese tenant. A video taken from the building’s 20th-floor closed-circuit television camera shows a group of 4 Chinese men conversing in the hallway as one smokes a cigarette.
Said smoker throws the cigarette on the floor of the balcony, which catches fire only a few minutes later. It is still unknown why the sprinklers in the condominium were not triggered.
(Student brings out plate of food during mall fire evacuation because “food is life”)
Supt. Robert Pacis, Parañaque City fire marshal has confirmed this video to be legitimate, and the cigarette a point of interest in the investigation: “Our investigation is still in progress but we are considering that the thrown cigarette is the cause of the fire.”
While they have already identified the owner of the unit where the fire originated they have yet to locate the 4 Chinese men in the video. Pacis makes an appeal for the men to come forward: “I am asking the building administrator to coordinate with the unit owner and [for] the tenants to come out in the open and shed light on the incident.”
What do you think about this?
Source: Inquirer
