Firecracker blast rocks QC

Some P100,000 worth of firecrackers being sold at roadside stall exploded the other day, shattering a glass window of an adjacent shop in Quezon City.

No one was hurt in the incident.

FO3 Elmer Olivas, of the Central Fire Station along Agham Road, said the blast occurred around 10:20 a.m. along Road 1 near Visayas Avenue.

Olivas said that a witness told investigators he saw a man smoking a cigarette passed by the stall moment before the blast took place.

Another witness, Olivas said, claimed the man threw the cigarette in the direction of the firecrackers causing the explosion.

However, they could not describe the possible culprit.

Stall owner Feliza Esbello claimed to have a permit to sell the goods. But arson probers said Esbello could not immediately produce documents allowing her to sell the firecrackers.

Olivas said an investigation would be conducted.

In a related development, Central Police District (CPD) director Chief Superintendent Napoleon Castro has ordered all police station commanders and operating units of the district to begin checking all establishments that sell firecrackers.

Castro said the directive is aimed at preventing the sale of dangerous firecrackers. — Katherine Adraneda