Star City blaze spread too fast, too soon – official

MANILA, Philippines – The fire that razed the Star City amusement park last Wednesday was “not normal,” an official said yesterday.

In an interview with The STAR, Pasay City fire marshall Paul Pili said the rapid spread of the fire is not normal especially since the firemen responded only three minutes after it was reported.

“If the fire started at one place and the firemen are there, their tendency is to pump water immediately. Even that big, that is manageable. Even if a quarter is charred, that is manageable if it was normal,” Pili said.

“What happened was there were two sides that were burning. MBC and the main entrance (were also engulfed in flames). Our personnel were divided in order to fight the fire,” he added, referring to the Manila Broadcasting Co. facilities.

The fire started at around 12:22 a.m. Wednesday, with the alert level raised to Task Force Bravo in two hours. The fire raged on for almost 14 hours before it was put out at around 2:02 p.m.

The fire destroyed 90 percent of the amusement park, resulting in about P1 billion in damages.

Pili said they have started to collect samples from locations they believe had traces of combustible materials.

As of yesterday, they collected 14 samples. Once the samples are complete, they will be passed to the arson laboratory to prove or disprove arson, Pili said.

The samples will be checked for gasoline, oil, tires or other materials that may have been used to ensure “faster combustion,” he said.

Pili said they have not yet ruled out faulty electrical wiring as a possible cause of the fire.

Investigators have 45 days to complete the probe, he added.

Star City is closed indefinitely until “a full assessment of the situation can be made,” the park’s management said in a Facebook post yesterday.