4 hurt as fire hits Camp Crame ammunition dump

Three firefighters and a policeman were injured as they battled a blaze at an armory in Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters yesterday that gutted a storage facility housing explosives and ammunition, police said.

The fire inside Camp Crame caused huge explosions that were heard around suburban areas in Quezon City, and caused panic among residents enjoying a public holiday, officials said.

Thick black smoke billowed out of the building, which also contained unexploded World War II bombs. According to radio reports, the site of the fire looked like a war zone.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said the cause of the fire was not yet known, but noted that there had been a power failure at the compound shortly beforehand.

Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) head Chief Superintendent Francisco Senot identified the injured as FO3 Floredino Batain, SFO2 Tirzo Cabaton, FO2 Donato de los Trinos and PO1 Jodeal Orcullo.

The four were initially evacuated to the PNP general hospital within the camp. They all suffered burns, while one of the three firemen suffered head injuries after he was hit by falling debris.

Ebdane, clad only in a white T-shirt, pants and slippers, supervised the firefighting operation from the ground. He said, "some of my officers saw electricity coursing over (some wires) before the fire happened."

"There was a (power outage) and, when the lights came back, there was a spark and I think that started the fire," he said.

Other ranking PNP officials, clad mostly in casual civilian clothes, were also on hand at the scene to assist in the firefighting operation.

Also destroyed by the fire was the auditing office within the LSS building, raising speculations that the blaze was intentionally set.

Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Joel Goltiao ruled out sabotage or terrorism as the cause. Initial investigations showed faulty electrical wiring could have sparked the fire.

The fire was brought under control after about two hours, police said. It happened while the police and military personnel were busy securing the 18th anniversary celebration of the 1986 EDSA people power revolt at the EDSA Shrine and the People Power Monument across the shrine.

Operation of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), which passes near the facility, was halted and road traffic re-routed, causing gridlocks.

Plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the camp, with smoldering debris scattered on nearby roads. Spent grenade shells and ammunition casings were scattered on the ground.

Several witnesses said that before the blaze broke out, they saw smoke billowing out of the EOD office.

PNP Directorate for Intelligence chief Director Robert Delfin said the fire broke out at 3:45 p.m. inside the compound of the Explosive and Ordnance Division (EOD) office, located inside the Logistic Support Service (LSS) building, where arms, bullets, explosives and other supplies for distribution to regional police offices are stored.

Besides containing rifle-propelled grenades (RPGs) and assorted bullets — including M60 bullets — other munitions stored in the razed depot were M203 grenades, hand grenades, C-4 explosive and explosives seized by the PNP in various anti-terrorist operations nationwide.

Fortunately, the fire was stopped before it reached a gasoline station close to the armory.

Ebdane has ordered Directorate for Logistics head Chief Superintendent Ricardo Quinto to immediately conduct an inventory check to determine the exact number of munitions, arms and explosives lost in the fire.

At least 50 fire trucks and dozens of ambulances and medical volunteers rushed to the site of the fire. A police helicopter with a fire marshal on board directed firefighting efforts, as firemen on the ground had difficulty battling the blaze within the compound because of the explosions.

The fire was put under control by 4:45 p.m. and put out by 5 p.m. Fire investigators are now working to determine the cause of the fire.

Police explosives experts conducted sweeping operations at the site of the EDSA celebration to ensure that no flying explosives landed within that area.

Bullets, glass, burned chunks of wood and a charred camouflage tent were strewn across EDSA. Police cordoned off the area as rescue vehicles raced to the scene and soldiers began collecting scattered bits of explosives.

Hero Vasquez, a 17-year-old student who was waiting for a train at a nearby MRT station, said dozens of passengers ducked for cover as grenade fragments and other debris flew from the camp. Some grabbed pieces of the shrapnel to keep as souvenirs. A grenade was later found at the MRT station by policemen, who immediately defused it.

Despite rerouting, traffic was very heavy after the north- and south-bound lanes of EDSA were closed at the height of the blaze.

Burning shrapnel from the explosions rained down on EDSA, forcing the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to close off the Santolan segment of EDSA.

MMDA Metrobase said northbound vehicles had to make a right turn at White Plains road, while southbound vehicles were advised to turn right on P. Tuazon Avenue.

As of presstime, there were no reported deaths, road mishaps or injuries to pedestrians as a result of the fire and explosions in Camp Crame or the traffic rerouting in the vicinity. — Jaime Laude, Nikko Dizo, Katherine Adraneda, AFP