SunStar.com.ph, October 13, 2006
A series of explosions in a firecracker factory followed by a fire injured several people and damaged nearby houses in the thickly populated informal settlement on the Abacan River in Barangay Pampang Thursday noon.
Thousands in a wide radius from the factory site were alarmed as they reported hearing the explosions and feeling the jolt caused by it.
Teams and fire engines from the Bureau of Fire Protection in Angeles City, the Dee Hwa Liong Volunteer Fire Brigade, the Angeles City Police Office and the Angeles City Disaster Coordinating Office rushed to the scene and contained the fire and helped in the rescue operations.
Angeles City Police Director Policarpio Segubre reported no fatalities in the blast but the city's disaster coordinating office recorded nine persons who suffered injuries from the blasts.
Destruction
The three blasts destroyed the firecracker factory building reportedly owned by Lea Turla of Barangay Sta. Trinidad.
The concrete walls of the factory and other adjacent concrete houses collapsed from the explosions.
Several houses in the vicinity, meanwhile, were razed in the resulting fire while others suffered damages from the explosions such as blown off roofs, shattered window glasses and collapsed ceilings.
Not privy
Residents near the explosion site said they do not know any illegal activities in the building.
Purok leader Jerry de Leon, whose house also suffered damaged windows, said barangay officials are now aware of the operation of the factory.
He said while the operation of the firecracker factory had resumed, the illegal activity in the factory had been ordered stopped by Barangay Chief Carlos Dela Cruz several weeks ago.
Liable
Visiting the scene and inspecting the damage on several houses, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin said the owner of the factory should be held liable for all the damages caused by the illegal activity in the house.
Lazatin said officials found out that the factory did not have any building permit and the operators neither had a business permit.
One of the workers, Diosdado Handig, told police investigators that the fire started while one of his colleagues tried to compress the contents of a fountain he was making.
Handig said upon seeing the sparks, they quickly ran out of the building knowing the place would explode any second. He added that even if there were fire extinguishers, these would not help since the flames came so fast and engulfed the building prior to the explosion.
The building owner has been placed under police custody by Chief Inspector Rudolf Caligagan, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) based in Pampanga.
Turla, however, will stay in the Angeles City Medical Center for confinement after suffering a stroke. She will be charged for illegal manufacture and discharge of firecrackers, both violations of Republic Act (RA) 7183 or the Pyrotechnic Law.
Police said Turla is also culpable for physical injuries and malicious mischief for the damage caused on private property.
