Philippines police open investigation into slipper factory fire

Police in the Philippines have opened a criminal investigation into a Manila factory fire that killed at least 72 people, as a relative of several victims said the blaze trapped workers on the second floor, where iron grilles on windows prevented their escape.

Most of the bodies had been retrieved from the gutted two-storey Kentex Manufacturing Corp rubber slipper factory a day after the fire raged for more than five hours in the outskirts of the capital.

As forensic officers worked to identify the dead, questions were being raised about whether the factory followed fire and building safety standards.

Dionesio Candido, whose daughter, granddaughter, sister-in-law and niece were among the missing, said iron grilles reinforced with fencing wire that “could prevent even cats from escaping” covered windows on the second floor .

He said he was allowed by authorities to enter the gutted building, where he saw charred remains “piled on top of each other”.

Local media reports quoted relatives as saying their kin sent frantic text messages asking for help from the second floor, but contact was lost shortly after.

Police will file charges against “all those accountable and those at fault”, said police deputy director Leonardo Espina.

Arson investigators

Valenzuela city fire marshal Mel Jose Lagan said arson investigators will look into why people were unable to escape from the second floor when there was a “sufficient exit”, including a wide stairway to the back of the building leading to the outside. They will also look into whether there were more people inside the building than allowed.

Bars on windows are common in offices, factories and homes in the Philippines, in order to keep thieves out. In workplaces or factories, they are also used to prevent employees from stealing equipment or products.

Valenzuela mayor Rex Gatchalian said a workers’ log book was lost in the fire and the foreman was among the dead, making it difficult to determine how many were inside the factory.

The chief of the national police medical examiner’s office, Emmanuel Aranas, said fingerprints could no longer be used to identify the burnt victims and forensic officers will have to rely on dental records, DNA and personal items.

Mr Gatchalian said the fire was apparently ignited by sparks from welding work at the factory’s main entrance door, triggering an explosion of the chemicals used to make the slippers.

District fire marshal Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu said the building had other exits but apparently the workers were overwhelmed by the thick black smoke from the burning rubber and chemicals, which are highly flammable and caused the blaze to spread quickly.

PA