Another Valenzuela warehouse burns down

MANILA, Philippines–A week after a warehouse in Valenzuela City was razed by a blaze, another one burned down in the city on Tuesday morning.

The Valenzuela City Fire Department said the fire engulfed the warehouse and factory of Adriatic Manufacturing Inc. on Industrial Road in Barangay (village) Karuhatan. The blaze started around 7 a.m. in the factory, which produced and stored rubber slippers and sandals. Its owners have yet to be identified by fire investigators.

Less than an hour after it broke out, the blaze spread quickly throughout the factory, prompting firefighters to raise the alarm level to the fifth alarm. The fire was eventually brought under control at 10 a.m. and put out around 3 p.m.

No one was injured or killed as the blaze began before the start of regular office hours at the warehouse. The cost of damage to property was still under investigation.

Firefighters said they found it hard to battle the fire as the flames were too intense considering the materials stored in the warehouse. They also cited the low water pressure in the fire hydrants.

The blaze happened a week after a warehouse operated by Sanxing Plastic Trading caught fire on June 18, affecting other houses nearby. Firefighters also struggled to contain the blaze, which took around nine hours to extinguish as it quickly spread and burned the plastic products stored in the warehouse. The damage to property was placed at around P5 million.–Nathaniel R. Melican