8 killed in Manila dorm fire

Eight people were trapped to death while four boarders were injured in a fire that gutted a two-story dormitory in Sampaloc, Manila shortly before dawn yesterday.

The cause of the two-hour fire remained unknown but initial reports from witnesses indicated it may have started in the kitchen located at the ground floor of the dormitory, said arson investigator Fire Officer 1 Guillermo Fermalino.

"We don’t know the cause as of this point. Survivors said they did not hear any explosion before the incident and we have not seen yet any sign of faulty electrical wirings in the kitchen," he said.

Fire Marshal Pablito Cordeta identified four of the casualties as Vanessa Lachica, 25, a female boarder; and Mark Lester Relente, 22; Joey Dangaran, 25; Gelmar Capati, 19, all employees of a water refilling station located at the ground floor of the building on P. Campa street in the city’s University Belt.

Firemen recovered the charred bodies of four other victims, who remained unidentified. Initial investigation showed they were just visitors who stayed for the night after drinking out.

"We are still investigating the cause," Fermalino said. "There were eight casualties – two women and six men in their early 20s." he said.

Cordeta identified the injured boarders as Ryan Pilapil, 23; Maridel Pad-ang, 25; Marilou Larango, 22; and Leda Andiun, 30.

He said many of the fatalities apparently failed to rush out of the building after a night of drinking. and some were found near the fire exit on the second floor.

Suitcases and other belongings also blocked exits, making it difficult for people to escape, he said.

"The ones who were drunk had weak reflexes and others dragged their belongings with them, slowing their evacuation," Cordeta said.

Witnesses also told arson investigators that the victims appeared to be drunk after a party Saturday night and failed to react despite efforts by other residents to wake them up when the fire broke out at 3:36 a.m.

One of the fatalities, Lachica, was initially knocked unconscious after getting electrocuted inside her room during the blaze.

Fermalino said their initial investigation showed the blaze started at the common kitchen of the 20-room dormitory.

The fire reached the fifth alarm 10 minutes after it started and spread through three adjacent houses, he said.

Authorities said the fire destroyed P2 million worth of property despite efforts of firefighters to control the flames.

The two-story dormitory, owned by a certain Juan Manahan, was occupied by 12 families and an undetermined number of boarders.

Manila, a thickly populated city, was hit by more than 400 fires last year.

Sampaloc district has many dormitories housing university students from the provinces and young urban professionals.

The worst fire that hit the country was in March 1996 when a blaze struck the Ozone disco in Quezon City that left over 160 people dead and 95 others injured.

The tragedy gained international media attention since it highlighted the alleged negligence of the club owners who were later ordered by the court to pay damages to the families of the victims and serve four years in prison for failure to provide fire exits and fire sprinklers in the building prior to the tragedy. -With AP, AFP