A recent inspection conducted by the Pasay City Engineer’s Office showed that several malls near the stations of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) have been blocking the stations’ fire exits.
“We found out that the mall operators have caused the blockage of these fire exits. They even converted that particular portion of the mall into a storage room and padlocked it,” City Engineer Edwin Javaluyas said.
He said they already warned mall owners to discontinue this practice, and called upon them to make sure their electrical connections and sprinkler systems are in good condition.
Javaluyas said his team conducted an inspection after a fire destroyed a portion of the Central Park Condominium buildings last Aug. 14. The fire was caused by a lit cigarette thrown down the garbage chute.
They found that the two buildings lacked a regular supply of water and have only one elevator each. Fire experts recommend that a building should have more than one elevator.
A total of four fire incidents were recorded in Pasay City since the start of the year.
Apart from the fire at the condominium building, the Baclaran Terminal Mall and the Puregold Plaza shopping mall near the LRT Libertad station along Taft Avenue, were also gutted in separate incidents.
Last January, another fire destroyed the Galleria Baclaran shopping mall, which was near the Baclaran LRT station.