3 Tsinoys dead in Navotas fire

MANILA, Philippines – A woman and her two adult children died when a fire of still unknown origin gutted two old plastic factory warehouses in Navotas City Monday afternoon. Navotas fire marshal Chief Inspector Felix Medes identified the victims as Luciana Ang Co, 52; her son Alfonse Mac Nurley Ang Co, 22, and daughter Eileen Ang Co, 20.

“The victims were burned beyond recognition,” Medes told The STAR.

Medes said a fire broke out on the second floor of the old two-story Prudential Plastic Factory building in Barangay San Rafael at around 3 p.m., trapping the victims inside. The warehouses still contained old plastic products.

“The company has been non-operational since 2007 but the Co family still used the inner second floor of the left building for their dwelling,” Medes said.

He said the two-story building was owned by William Co, but it is not clear how the victims were related to him.

The fire reached the third alarm before firemen on at least 35 firetrucks – three from the Bureau of Fire Protection and 32 from the fire volunteer brigades – were able to control it at around 1:30 a.m. and put it out at around 5 a.m.

“Intense fire with toxic thick black smoke prevented firemen from penetrating the burning buildings,” Medes said. “We don’t have a report of chemical presence inside the buildings but because they contained plastic products the blaze was very hard to put out.”

Navotas arson investigators were still trying to determine yesterday the exact cause of the fire but witnesses claimed they heard an explosion inside the warehouse before the blaze started.

Medes said an estimated P2 million worth of property was destroyed.

Navotas social welfare office chief Pat Agcaoili told The STAR the warehouse’s firewall kept the flames from spreading to the shanty community around it.