San Juan thinner factory razed, trader hurt in 11-hour fire

A businessman sustained second-degree burns when an 11-hour fire hit a thinner repackaging factory in San Juan over the weekend .

Damage to property was placed at P5 million.

Rene Ong, 39, owner of the JNR Enterprises, located along F. Manalo st., Barangay Batis, sustained second-degree burns in the face and both hands and feet while fighting the fire.

Ong was rushed to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center where he is being treated.

Fire prober SFO2 Eduardo Antonio said the fire started when Ong turned on the lights of the one-storey building at about 6:20 p.m. Saturday.

Witnesses noticed sparks from the electrical wirings which, they believed, triggered the fire. Ong tried to put out the fire and was burned in the process.

The fire reached alarm level "Bravo" and close to 30 firetrucks from San Juan and nearby municipalities and cities, as well as Chinese volunteer groups responded. The blaze was under control some three hours later. The fire was finally put out at 5:28 a.m. yesterday.

SFO2 Antonio said it took them 11 hours to completely douse the fire because the building contained highly combustible materials.

Fire probers will send ash samples to the PNP crime laboratory to determine the real cause of the fire. --