HOTELS, DORMITORIES, INNS: BFP told to conduct strict inspections

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) here received an order from Mayor Evelio Leonardia to conduct rigid inspections in hotels, dormitories, lodging houses, and inns, following the blaze at Java pension house here which claimed six lives last Tuesday.

Chief Inspector Publio Ploteña, city fire marshal, said the order was issued when he met Leonardia on Wednesday.

Java pension house fire was the biggest fire that hit Bacolod this year because of the number of casualties, Ploteña said.

He said that the BFP will intensify their awareness campaign on fire safety by conducting drills and lectures to personnel of these establishments to educate them on what to do if such will happen.

They should be vigilant and alert in case untoward incidents happen, he added.

He said the bureau would also like to reiterate to the management of these establishments the importance of fire safety protocols like the maintenance of fire alarms, clear pathways to fire exit, well-operated fire alarms, and maintenance of emergency lights and sprinkler systems.

“The incident happened at the center of the city, and we don’t want this to happen again,” he added.

He said the mayor told him to concentrate and prioritize these establishments because of influx of people.

The casualties in the fire were identified as Java pension house owner Christopher Java, 33, his mother Magdalena, 73, Christopher’s son Christian, 12, Ronalyn Dacalio, 43, nanny of Christian, and Arnold Felomino, 58, a cashier of the pension house.

The Java family and the nanny died due to suffocation after they were trapped inside the building. But Felomino was burned and found at the rooftop because he returned to save his boss, Ploteña said.

The sixth victim was identified by his family yesterday as Arnel Bajenting, a guest from Cebu.

The fire also damaged six adjacent small business establishments, including an upholstery shop and an eatery.

He said there were sprinkler systems and fire alarm when the fire happened, however, due to thick smoke, the victims failed to find the pathway leading to the fire exits.

He also cannot yet tell if the management has committed violations on fire safety protocols since they are still reviewing the documents regarding their compliance.

He said he cannot also confirm if the fire was caused by an ignition of a motorcycle parked at the ground floor of the pension house because they don’t have physical evidence and support of witnesses.

He, however, said that they already have persons of interest, but still refused to confirm if the fire was intentionally done or by accident.

“We don’t just base our investigation on allegations. We need to have evidence to support such claim,” he added. Investigation is ongoing.