EDITORIAL - Constant vigilance

It took a year, but the Office of the Ombudsman finally filed graft-charges the other day in connection with a fire that left 74 people dead in Quezon City. Charged were former city engineer Alfredo Macapugay as well as personnel of the city government in charge of building inspection and enforcement of the Fire Code of the Philippines. Also charged were William Genato and his wife Rebecca, owners of the Manor Hotel which was hit by a fire reportedly triggered by a faulty electrical system in August last year.

That fire was unusual not only because it struck in the middle of the monsoon season, but also because of the high casualty count in a blaze that merely damaged the building. Almost all the victims were members of a religious group attending a get-together in the city. They died mostly of suffocation, unable to get out of the building that lacked fire exits and even fire extinguishers. Some of the fatalities were found crowded together in bathrooms where they had tried to escape the deadly fumes. Others werecrowded near window grilles.

In filing the graft charges, the Office of the Ombudsman accused the city government personnel of accepting bribes from the Genato couple to overlook violations of fire safety standards at the Manor Hotel. The formal charges should serve as a lesson to local governments, particularly in urban areas, that enforcement of the Fire Safety Code must never be relaxed. The Manor Hotel continued doing business even after a horrific fire destroyed the Ozone Disco, also in Quezon City. More than a hundred people perished inthat fire when they were trapped inside the disco that had no emergency exit. Most of the fatalities were youths celebrating their graduation. In Manila, more than 20 people, most of them children, were killed when fire engulfed an 80-year-old building housing an orphanage.

Despite these tragedies, many firetraps remain in Metro Manila. Studentdormitories, inns, movie-houses – even a cursory look will tell you immediately that fire safety standards are violated in these buildings. Keeping people safe from firetraps requires constant vigilance. Some officials invoke lack of per-sonnel to conduct regular inspections. But random checks throughout the year in different areas can keep building owners on their toes. Often, fire safety violations are invisible only to city personnel who prefer not to see, or who turn their eyes away.