Fatalities Listed From Ozone Fire
Randall S. Benn
This is the first news item I've seen that atually lists fatalities.
Randy Benn
Alexandria, VA USA
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150 dead in QC disco fire;
FVR declares calamity
Multiple probes ordered
By REDEN S. VIAJE
At least 150 persons, mostly youngsters celebrating in advance their
graduation day, were killed
while scores were seriously injured, when fire trapped them inside a
jampacked disco in Quezon
City at around midnight Sunday night.
Rescuers, firefighters, and volunteers were stunned by the sight of the pile
of bodies at the sole
entrance and exit of Ozone Disco at the corner of Timog and Morato Avenues in
Quezon City.
President Ramos immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the fire
incident and the filing of
charges against those responsible.
The Senate, the House of Representatives, the Departments of the Interior and
Local Government
(DILG), National Defense, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are
to conduct their
respective investi-gations.
Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. and members of the city council held an
emergency meeting
yesterday.
The Ozone Disco tragedy was the worst in Philippine fire history.
It took six hours for government personnel and volunteers to retrieve the
victims' bodies from the
disco.
As of press time, only 24 of those who died and reportedly missing were
identified. Their remains
were brought to several funeral parlors in Quezon City and Manila.
Among the 20 victims brought to Arlington Funeral Homes, three were
identified as Maricar
Pangandian, 19, Dys Montenegro, and Joseph Victoria.
Those at the Paramount Funeral Homes were Frederick Moreno of the Mapua
Institute of
Technology, Everito Gallerte, Felimon Buntion, Dave Castillo, Mary Joan
Enciso, Bona Amamoan,
Eric Antonio, Rufino Celestino, and Danilo Castro.
At the Oro Funeral Homes, three of 20 victims brought there were identified
as Albert Avellera of
Project 4, QC; Noimee Tolentino, an employe of Philam Life Insurance Co.; and
Leonardo Jacobe,
an employe of the Social Security System,
None of the 30 victims brought to Funeraria Internacional have been
identified.
Of the 10 bodies brought to Capitol Funeral Homes, two were identified as
Manny Villanueva, a
waiter of Ozone Disco; and Crisanto Espino, of Roxas District, QC.
At Prudential Funeral Homes, bodies identified were those of Paul Henson,
Butch Dayrit, Rachel
Mengis, Ariel Cezar Mendoza, Carmelita Alvarez, Mary Ann Enciso, Conrad
Castillo, and Arlene
Amador.
Among those in critical condition at Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in
Manila were Romano
Carlo and Tesa Calderon.
The wounded were brought to private and public hospitals in Quezon City and
Manila.
Among the 104 reported missing were sisters Roxan and Rochel Cruz.
The victims were killed by fire and crushed when the structure's ceiling
collapsed. Most of the
victims were either crushed or burned beyond recognition.
Investigation disclosed that the fire broke out in the disc jockey's booth,
followed by successive
sparks of neon dancing lights and an explosion from the kitchen area.
The explosion reportedly triggered a stampede among the more than 300 disco
customers, who
tried to get out through the entrance and exit door.
Quezon City Bureau of Fire and Prevention Chief Fire Senior Supt. Manuel
Badoria insisted that
Ozone Disco had the required fire exits.
Arson probers said that the disco house had a capacity for 200 persons but
there were about 300
during the fire.
Ozone Disco had become the favorite of youngsters since it offered a 50
percent discount on
ordinary days.Calamity
President Ramos yesterday placed Quezon City under a state of calamity and
ordered the immediate
release of P2 million from the Calamity Fund to the city government for
assistance to the fire victims.
He formed a three-man committee that will conduct an investigation of the
disastrous fire which
gutted the Ozone disco in Quezon City and killed at least 150 people, mostly
students.
The President directed Interior and Local Government Secretary Rafael Alunan
III, Defense
Secretary Renato de Villa, and Public Works and Highways Secretary Gregorio
Vigilar to work as
a national team in getting to the bottom of the incident.
He said they should focus on pinpointing responsibility for possible
violations of the Building Code or
the non-adherence to Building and Fire Safety Code to file charges as
warranted.
Mr. Ramos extended a message of sympathy and condolence to all families of
the victims, most of
whom are students celebrating the end of the schoolyear.
He also ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to invite for
questioning the owner of the
establishment, identified as Ramon Chua Ng.
During his inspection of the ill-fated disco joint on Timog Ave. in Quezon
City yesterday afternoon,
the President noted three violations of the Building Code which, he said,
should be looked into.
These are the lone ``fire exit'' situated at the side of the disco, absence
of exit lights, and exit/entry
doors which open inward.
``These are clear violations of the Building Code and should be the focus of
the investigation,'' he
said.Mathay
Quezon City Mayor Ismael A. Mathay Jr. has formed a composite team headed by
city engineer
Alfredo Macapugay that will inspect all disco houses and similar
establishments in the city to
determine whether these have adequate fire exits as required by the building
code.
Mathay said those with inadequate facilities for fire exits as required by
the Building Code will be
ordered closed.
He said that engineer Macapugay should ``personally supervise'' this
composite team and submit a
daily report so that the city can close the erring establishments.Teeners
Some 150 teenagers, mostly students, screaming for help, were burned to
death, while 104 were
seriously injured when fire broke out in a disco house in Quezon City
yesterday.
The fire was the worst of its kind in the country.
Crying parents milled around the fire scene, while their children suffocated
inside the Ozone Disco
on Timog Ave. near Tomas Morato Ave. .
The blaze was believed to have started from a leak in a gas tank at 12:10
a.m.
Remy Mendez, 38, security guard of the Ozone, of Compederate Agency said
customers did not
immediately notice the fire at the left corner of the dance floor.
When the fire spread and thick smoke covered the house, followed by a
brown-out, the customers
panicked, resulting in a stampede.
While they were jostling against each other to get out, the mezzanine over
the dance floor collapsed.
Arson investigators said the disco house had three doors _ the first one at
the main entrance, another
where the customers got tickets, and another door to the dance floor.
Mendez said about 350 persons entered the disco, but it could only
accommodate 75 to 100
persons.
The guard said many teenagers went to the disco last Monday because the
entrance fee was only
P50. The fee from Tuesday to Sunday was P120.
The guard's son, also a waiter in Ozone, died. He was only recognized through
his shoes.
Among the fatalities identified by their relatives were Dorothy Molo, 16;
Leamor Refran, 19,
Ozone's cashier; Joseph Viloria, 19; Kate Castillo, 19; Jenny Advincula;
Melissa Mandap, 19;
Rossell Gale Ensiso, 21 and her sister Mary Joan, 13, the youngest of the
fatalities and daughters of
a Manila policeman.
Mark Marasigan, 16, member of Neon Colors Dance Group performing in ``That's
Entertaiment''
show, said his co-members Anthony Borja, 17, Dashelle Lopez, 15, Dante Diaz,
16, and two only
known as Ricky and Sherwin, both 17, were among the victims.
Marasigan and his manager Shane Maceda said several members of ``Kids at
Work'' dance group
who attended the party were missing and believed to have died in the fire.
Some of the survivors were also identified as Richard Ablay, 19, the disco's
janitor. Mikee
Villanueva and Malou Barry who were seen inside the disco house left before
the fire.
The bodies were taken to Provincial, Pacheco, Funeraria Paz, Paramount,
Arlington, and Oro
Funeral Homes, all in Quezon City.
The injured were taken to hospitals, 50 of them at East Avenue Medical
Center, eight at St. Luke's;
and four at UST Hospital in Manila. The rest were taken to the Philippine
General Hospital in
Manila; V. Luna Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, and other near
hospitals. (Nazarene A.
Leyco)Probe
President Ramos ordered yesterday a thorough investigation of a fire which
killed at least 150
people, mostly teenagers who were celebrating their school graduation, at
midnight Sunday at a
disco in Quezon City.
At least 48 others were seriously injured in the fire believed caused by
``faulty electrical wiring.''
Witnesses said the fire broke out from the disc jockey's booth, followed by
sparks of neon dancing
lights and a gas tank explosion in the kitchen area.
The explosion caused a stampede and almost nobody was able to leave the area
because the
narrow door could only be opened toward the inside of the building.
The door could no longer be opened as panic-stricken customers pressed
against one another
against the door.
Senior Supt. Hercules CataluÄna, Central Police District Command (CPDC)
director, said the fire
started at around 12:15 midnight and was pronounced under control an hour
later.
Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. said that he would order an investigation
as tom why the
establishment was given a permit to operate despite its obvious violation of
the city building code.
Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, who went to the scene and to the
CPDC station 10,
said he would order an investigation of some members of city hall,
particularly those assigned with
the QC Business Permit License Office and QC Engineering Office.
Police identified the owners of the Ozone Disco on Tomas Morato Ave. corner
Timog Ave. as one
Raymund Ng, Serafin Pua, Hermilo Ocampo, Racquel Ocampo, and Rosita Co.
``We were dancing to the tune of `Macarena' when a ball of light suddenly
went out. We thought it
was part of the effects when all of a sudden the ceiling just burst into
flame,'' Dian Gatchalian, one of
the survivors said.
Quezon City Bureau of Fire and Prevention Chief Fire Senior Supt. Manuel
Badoria identified some
of the fatalities as Rufino Celestino, Danilo Castro, Albert Avellera, of
Project 4, QC; Noimee
Tolentino, an employe of Philam Life Insurance Co.; Leonardo Jacobe, an
employe of the Social
Security System; Manny Villanueva, a waiter of Ozone Disco; Crisanto Espino,
of Roxas District,
QC; Paul Henson, Butch Oclarit, Rachel Mengis, Ariel Cezar Mendoza, Carmelita
Alvarez, Mary
Joan Enciso, Conrad Castillo, Arlene Amador, and Maricar Pangandian, 19.
Also killed were Dys Montenegro, Joseph Victoria, Emerito Gallerte Jr., Dave
Castillo, Mary Joan
Enciso, Bona Amamoan, Bon Eric Antonio, Domingo Bundan Jr., Khith Castello,
Michael Rivera,
Edwin Amador, Edith Alba, Russel Mangulo, Vhermelus Castro, Raul Itchon,
Emerito Felimon,
Cezar Mendoza, Dennis Soriano, Dhong Mamon, Ana Rhodora, Keith Artemis, Jake
Manabat,
Edwin Mitado, Edwin Amador, Rhoderick Morella, and Jonh Paul Tolentino. (Rico
Navarro)De
Villa
Defense Secretary Renato de Villa, chairman of the National Disaster
Coordinating Council
(NDCC), called yesterday for an extensive inspection of structures in Metro
Manila which are
frequented by a great number of people to check if these were built in
conformity with all the
provisions of the national building code.
De Villa told newsmen that the move could form part of a comprehensive
measure aimed at
preventing a repeat of last Tuesday's disastrous fire that burned the Ozone
Disco in Quezon City and
killed at least 150 people.
Interviewed after the opening of the first anti-poverty summit at the
Philippine International
Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, de Villa said a top-level talk among
the heads of
concerned agencies should be held immediately. (Lulu R. Principe)Students
Most of the fire victims midnight yesterday at the Ozone Disco in Quezon City
were students
graduating from high school and college, and one of them was even celebrating
her birthday, police
said.
They were also all availing themselves of a P50 percent discount offered by
the establishement every
Monday.
Four survivors were brought to the University of Santo Tomas Hospital on
EspaÄna, Manila. They
were identified as Steven Paz, Jane Paz, Mhelan Urbano, and Maryrose Flores.
Urbano was immediately released with minor burns on the legs.
Steven Paz and Jane Paz suffered burns in the face, while Flores was placed
in an oxygen tent
because of first-degree burns in the body. They were still in a state of
shock.
Flores is a graduating student of the UST Education High School. Her
graduation is set for March
29.
Steven Paz is a high school student of the Far East Military Academy (FEMA)
in Quezon City and
Jane Paz and Mhelan Urbano are college students taking up occupational
therapy and physical
therapy at the Emilio Aguinaldo College on Taft Ave., Manila.
Steven and Jane are both balikbayans from Canada. (Joel C. Atencio)Condole
Sen. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday extended condolences to the relatives
and friends of the
victims of the fire that razed Ozone Disco in Quezon City and demanded an
investigation and
prosecution of all those responsible for the tragedy.
``My heart goes out to the parents particularly of those students who died in
the fire,'' she said. ``As
a mother, I know the joys and hardships of bearing children and raising them
to adulthood. I cannot
find the words to commensurate with all the parents who have given everything
for their children,
only to lose them in this God awful fire.''
She called on her colleagues in the Senate to immediately conduct an inquiry
into the tragedy to
determine what went wrong, establish responsibility and initiate
prosecution.Mayo
CAMP RICARDO PAPA, Bicutan, Tagig _ Some 150 people, mostly teenagers and
graduating
students, were believed to have perished in the fire that burned Ozone Disco
along Timog and
Tomas Morato Avenues in Quezon City shortly after midnight yesterday.
National Capital Regional Command (NCRC) director Chief Supt. Job Mayo said
more than 50
others who survived the fire tragedy were undergoing treatment in at least
seven hospitals in Metro
Manila for third degree burns and serious injuries.
In a memorandum to Philippine National Police Director General Recaredo
Sarmiento, Mayo
reported the number of injured admitted to the following hospitals were UST,
6; Quirino Hospital
(formerly Labor Hospital), 6; St Luke's, 4; Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital, 5;
Philippine General
Hospital, 2; East Avenue General Hospital, 13; and V. Luna Medical Center, 1.
(Roy
Mabasa)Graduating
Acting Director Senior Supt. Bonifacio J. Garcia of the Bureau of Fire
Protection (DFP) yesterday
ordered arson investigators and fire-fighting experts to conduct a
full-dressed probe of the fire that
hit Ozone disco pub on Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City, at midnight the other
night killing at least
150 people and caused serious burn injuries to 120 others.
Garcia and Senior Supt. Hercules CataluÄna, director of the Central Police
District Command
(CDPC), said many of the graduating youngsters took their way to the disco
pad despite their
parents' objection because of the 50 percent discount for food-and-drink
charges as a special
promotional offer of the funhouse management.
A mother of one of the fatalities, a 17-year-old male student, told newsmen,
her husband is working
in Saudi Arabia to give good future for their kids. Her son went to Ozone,
excited about a new pair
of rubber shoes his dad sent him. In spite of her objections, the boy
insisted.
Many of the victims were trapped inside the funhouse as the blaze spread
fast.
Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. instructed city hall officials to set up emergency
information centers in front
of the establishment and at the city hall lobby to assist relatives to locate
victims' whereabouts. (Yul
Malicse)Laxity nixed
Senators condemned the laxity of local government units in enforcing the
Building Code and fire
safety measures that led to the Ozone Disco inferno while others demanded an
immediate inquiry
into and prosecution of all those responsible for the tragedy.
Senate Minority Leader Edgardo J. Angara said he was holding these local
agencies ``accountable
for this tragedy that claimed 150 lives (and) their incompetence and
negligence cost the lives of many
young people who perished in so much pain.''
The tragic incident would not have happened if only these agencies thoroughly
inspected the layout
and construction, specially the location of fire exits, of the Ozone Disco to
ensure the safety of its
patrons, Angara said.DECS aid
Education Secretary Ricardo Gloria said yesterday that he will be allocating
P2,000 assistance to
each of the victims of the Ozone Disco tragedy, or some P300,000 from his
1996 budget.
Gloria also appealed to parents, students, as well as school authorities to
``as much as possible,
discourage holding of activities like this in disco houses, hotels, or
outside the school premises.''
He said this time of graduation, should instead be done ``simply with
austerity that make this an
opprtunity to students to thanks their parents and teachers that they have
already finished another
schoolyear.'' (Elena L. Aben)DSWD aid
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-National Capital
Region (NCR) has
deployed social workers to provide critical incident stress debriefing (CISD)
to survivors of the fire
which hit Ozone Disco Pub in Timog corner Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City
yesterday at dawn.
Director Milda Alvior of the DSWD-NCR says that the 74 survivors who are now
staying in various
hospitals in Metro Manila will be their priority.
CISD is a stress management strategy designed to assist victims of traumatic
experiences. (ADF)
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