BFP: No proof of extortion during Pasay mall fire

After a 48-hour investigation, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) failed to find proof of alleged extortion activities of some firemen who responded to the Galleria Baclaran mall fire that gutted some P30 million worth of property last week.

In a report to Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Undersecretary Marius Corpus, BFP officials said they failed to find an actual complainant or witness to the alleged extortion at the height of the 10-hour fire at the mall last Jan. 3.

He told The STAR that based on a stall owner’s statement that someone who was not wearing a firefighter’s uniform had been demanding money, “a civilian may have just used our firefighters.”

 Corpus, who was directed by Puno to head the probe, said members of the Pasay Fire Department are not yet off the hook as he directed the Multi-Agency Investigation Task Force (MAITF) to look into the alleged negligence of the firemen and owners of the stalls inside the 7,200-square-meter mall.

Corpus said the BFP has initially ruled that faulty electrical wiring caused the fire that hit the Galleria Baclaran, but Multi-Agency Investigation Task Force (MAITF) will still look into other factors that further fanned the flame and burned other establishments.

Corpus, however, called on the public not to hesitate in coming out in the open if they have personal experience of extortion by the local firemen.

He also said he will initiate a dialogue between the BFP and fire volunteers to come up with a certain protocol “in responding to incidents like that of the Galleria Baclaran mall.” He noted that there was an instance when the BFP firemen ran out of water, some fire volunteers refused to lend them water.

With no protocol in place during the mall fire, Corpus said a firetruck that has run out of water could not leave the area because another firetruck was blocking its way.

Meanwhile, Corpus said charges will be filed against security guards of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for preventing firemen from getting water from a fire hydrant in the compound. The guards’ act prevented firemen from immediately containing the blaze, which lasted for more than 10 hours.

According to Corpus, CCP security guards violated a provision of the Fire Code of the Philippines when they prevented firemen, who are agents of the law, to fetch water to be used to contain the blaze.

Although the MAITF has been tasked to conduct its own investigation, Corpus said he will not give the task force a deadline in coming up with its report. “It’s a matter of gathering evidence and it will not be easy.”    –  Cecille Suerte Felipe