The National Building Code is very clear on the number of exits. It says: "Every building or usable portion thereof shall have at least one exit. In all occupancies, floors above the first storey having an occupant load of more than 10 shall not have less than two exits. Each mezzanine floor used for other than storage purposes, if greater in area than 185 square meters or more than 18.00 meters in any dimension, shall have at least two stairways to an adjacent floor."
Section 4 of the code specifies the distance of exits. "No point in a building without a sprinkler system shall be more than 45.00 meters from an exterior exit door, a horizontal exit, exit passage way, or an enclosed stairway, measured along the line of travel. In a building equipped with a complete automatic fire extinguishing system the distance from exits may be increased to 60.00 meters." This provision was applicable to every exit door serving an area having an occupant load of more than 10 or serving hazardous rooms or areas. It also specified that every exit door should exceed 1.20 meters in width.
Did Manor Hotel comply with these specifications? It not, why were its plans approved? As we stated earlier, the Manor Hotel fire is just a repeat performance of the Ozone Disco fire. In the Ozone Disco fire, the disco owners were held responsible for the tragedy. What about the Quezon City Hall authorities who were in charge of implementing the fire safety regulation rules?
We are glad that Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. has ordered an investigation into the violations of the fire regulation code to pin down the blame for the tragedy. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has also ordered Justice Secretary Hernando Perez and Interior Secretary Jose Lina, Jr. to go after erring local officials who may have been negligent in implementing our fire safety laws. Obviously, there are officials in the Quezon City Hall that are either lax in implementing the rules and regulations on fire precautions or worse, allowing persons to violate the laws for a consideration. They did not learn from the Ozone Disco fire. Will they learn from the Manor Hotel disaster?
We hope that the Manor Hotel death-trap will be the very last in Quezon City. All they have to do is to implement the rules of the National Building Code of the Philippines.