Mandaue City fire marshal says: Laundry shop failed fire safety requirement

Mandaue City Fire Marshal Oscar Mayol admitted yesterday that the management of Gene's Laundry Shop in barangay Basak failed to meet with some requirement of the fire safety code, which could have caused the deadly explosion last Monday.

Mayol said that their office had recommended to the management of the shop to transfer the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks used by its dryers to an area outside of the building.

Fire inspectors reportedly noted during their inspection that the LPG tanks were placed inside the shop, but Mayol admitted that they still gave the establishment a clearance even before it could comply with the recommendation. "Ato man gud na silang hatagan og grace period pag-comply sa atong recommendation," Mayol told radio station DYLA.

The fire chief could not however recall when was the last time they inspected the shop, saying the records are not with him. Nevertheless, Mayol said, the management had failed to follow their recommendation and this makes them liable for the incident that cost the lives of two people and resulted to injuries to 14 others.

According to Mayol, they have agreed with the Mandaue City Police Office to file criminal charges against the owner of Gene's Laundry Shop, Leonore Sanchez, for reckless imprudence resulting in double homicide and multiple physical injuries.

He explained that the failure of the management of the shop to comply with their recommendation may have caused the explosion, which is believed to be due to a leak in the LPG tanks.

The fatalities were identified as Diosdada Jao, 48 of barangay Basak, Mandaue City and Felipe Hermoso, 43, of barangayTisa, Cebu City.

The explosion also caused severe damage to the shop and two other adjacent business establishments housed in the building owned by former Mandaue City vice mayor Demetrio "Jun" Cortes. The impact of the blast was strong enough to also damage the nearby establishment located about 150 meters away.

Most of those injured were pedestrians and motorists passing the area when the explosion took place. They were hit by debris from the building including shards of broken glass.

Mayol said that the incident prompted Mayor Thadeo Ouano to order the inspection of all establishments using LPG tanks in Mandaue City. He said, they will no longer allow establishments using LPG to place their tanks inside the building. He said those who will fail to comply with the fire safety code will not anymore be granted a clearance.

Meanwhile, the explosion has not only affected the business establishments around Gene's Laundry Shop in Mandaue City, but also the LPG powered taxicabs.

This is because commuters now avoid taking such taxi units fearing that a leak in the tank might cause an explosion if exposed to a spark or fire.

Taxi drivers said that most taxi riders would first ask them if their unit uses LPG and if told that such is being used, many would no longer bother to ride.

To allay fears of the commuters, Charles de los Reyes, who is in he business of converting gasoline-powered vehicles to use LPG for fuel explained safety measures put in place.

De los Reyes explained that a distinctive odorant was purposely added to the LPG so that the consumers could easily detect if fumes are coming out from the tank. This way, if the odor is detected, the driver can immediately check the tank and open the car's windows to allow the air to diffuse.

Luis Serrano, a distributor of a safety gadgets for LPG tanks, also opined that LPG is safe to use in taxi units as he doesn't believe that if a taxi using LPG will exploded if it is rear ended.

"Not exactly because kung ang LPG tank ay ibabagsak mo, hindi sasabog yan kung walang leak, that is why many are using it now, not only taxis and cars but also industrial outlets. They use it on cranes sa paglay ng boxes up, mas delikado ang gasolina kasi once na mabangga mo lang ang portion ng tank niya talagang sasabog yan," Serrano said. The use of LPG in cars is a very popular practice in Europe and in Japan. - with Flor Z. Perolina/NLQ