This photo, taken on Dec. 23, 2017, shows firefighters working to put out a fire at the NCCC Mall in Davao City. (Photo by MANMAN DEJETO / AFP)
Here are the 12 deadliest fires that have hit the Philippines since 2010.
- Bed and Breakfast Pension, Tuguegarao City, 2010
A 10-hour predawn fire gutted the five-story Bed and Breakfast Pension, killing 16 and injuring 18 others, most of them nursing students about to take their licensure examinations.
- Gaisano Capital South, Cebu, 2011
Just before Christmas in 2011, a fire hit Gaisano Capital South in Cebu City. The fire lasted over 12 hours and displaced some 1,500 workers.
- Ever Gotesco Mall, Caloocan City, 2012
An 82-hour fire gutted Ever Gotesco Grand Central Mall in March, 2012, destroying 90 percent of the building. The parking area and the movie houses on the fifth floor were the worst-hit. Damage was estimated at P700 million.
- Malabon City, 2014
A 72-year-old man, his daughter and his five grandchildren, including a 2-year-old baby, perished in a three-hour fire at Barangay Tenejeros, Malabon, in March 2014. The fire left about 200 families homeless.
- Kentex Manufacturing Corp., Valenzuela City, 2015
On May 13, 2015, Kentex Manufacturing Corp. burned down, killing 74 people, mostly workers of the slipper factory in Valenzuela City. The absence of fire exits, sprinklers and fire extinguishers were some of the factors that contributed to the high death count.
- Parola Compound, Tondo, Manila, 2015
More than 6,000 families were left homeless in a 12-hour fire that broke out in an informal settler community at Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila, razing around 2,500 houses. A second fire broke out in the area hours after the first one was put out. Some 700 families lost their homes in the second fire.
- Barangay Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City, 2015
On Nov. 25, 2015, a fire raged for 10 hours and swept across a shantytown on Molave Street, Barangay Addition Hills, leaving some 2,000 families homeless. There were no reported deaths but at least six people were injured in the fire considered one of the “biggest in the history of Mandaluyong.”
- HTI factory, Cavite, 2017
Two persons died in a fire that hit the House Technology Industries (HTI) factory at the Cavite Export Economic Zone in General Trias town on Feb. 1, 2017. Over 100 people were injured in the 46-hour fire, with damage estimated at between P10 billion and P15 billion.
- NCCC mall, Davao City, 2017
A 32-hour fire gutted New City Commercial Center (NCCC) mall in Davao City on Dec. 23, 2017, killing 37 call center employees and a shopping mall security officer. An electrical short circuit sparked the massive fire, according to investigators.
- Metro Department Store, Cebu, 2018
It took firefighters 39 hours to battle a fire that broke out at Metro Department Store in January 2018. Damage was placed at P100 million.
- Manila Pavilion Hotel, 2018
Six Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. employees died and about two dozen others were hurt in a fire that hit the 22-story Manila Pavilion Hotel on UN Avenue in Manila in March 2018.
- Maricaban, Pasay City, 2019
Nine family members perished in an hourlong fire that destroyed a house at Maricaban in Pasay City on Feb. 7. —Compiled by Inquirer Research, with reports from Christabelle Abad, Patricia Regine Gamboa and Alex Ma. Alexandra
Source: Inquirer Archives