3 firefighters mauled by angry residents during fire

MANILA, Philippines—Nineteen people, including three fire fighters, were  injured after angry residents ran wild during a Christmas dawn fire in San Juan City.

Fire Officer 1 Jericho Aala of San Juan City-Bureau of Fire Protection, said a resident of Barangay (village) St. Joseph was also killed during the commotion that occurred as fire raged through the area around 2.25 a.m. on Tuesday.

Aala told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview that they were trying to put out the fire that was engulfing the shanties in the area when angry residents turned their ire on them.

“Ngayon lang nangyari na ganon ka violent ang mga tao (It was only now that residents got this violent),” he said, noting that many of the residents were apparently drunk.

Reports had it that the three fire fighters were injured after some residents who wanted them to train their hoses on their houses threw bottles at them.

A report also said one of those hurt in the commotion, FO1 Lizardo Ocampo, sustained bruises after he was punched and kicked by some of the residents. There were also reports of gun-toting.

The civilian casualty, whom authorities identified as a certain Michael Muñoz, 32, was allegedly mauled to death by his drunken neighbors when they reportedly heard him say “ako yung nanunog (I started the fire)” and thought he really started the fire.

Fire authorities said arson was among the angles being looked into as the cause of fire, but initial investigation showed that it may have been caused by a candle left unattended as there was no electricity in the area when fire struck.

Asked about protocols in dealing with unruly residents, Aala said police authorities, as well as village officials were the ones tasked to handle the overall security in the area while they focus in putting out the fire.

But in the light of the dramatic turn of events Tuesday, “the police officers, apparently, weren’t able to control the security, also because of the overall unruly behavior of the residents.”

“Ang namonitor namin is buong force na ng San Juan police ang dineploy pero hindi talaga kayang i-control dahil sa mga tao. Kahit gaano katapang ang mga pulis, hindi pa din kakayanin (We were told the entire San Juan police force had been deployed in the area but they were not enough to contain the situation. No matter how brave the policemen were, it was not enough to control the situation),” he said.

Aala said they received reports that some volunteer fire fighters decided to retreat some 30 minutes after they responded due to fear of their lives.

Chief Inspector Gilbert Dolot, the city’s fire marshal, earlier said 60 trucks initially responded to the scene, but roughly half of them backed out later on.

INQUIRER.net tried to reach San Juan City police chief, Senior Superintendent Rainier Espina, but to no avail.

The fire, which is said to have started from the house of one Francisco Paulete at No. 241 Marne Street in St. Joseph village, razed around 180 shanties occupied by around 2,000 families.

The fire reached general alarm before it was put out at 7:07 a.m. Damage to property was estimated at P2.5million.