(INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — Cigarette butts triggered the fire that destroyed 19 vehicles at the parking lot of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 in Pasay City last April, according to Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Eric Jose Ines.
Ines told INQUIRER.net that MIAA management had already ordered the placement of gravel in the area after having the dried grass collected.
“We told them to construct higher guard houses to enable guards to have a better view of the area for possible violators,” Ines said in a Viber message.
He added that the management ordered the strict enforcement of a smoking ban in the parking area and to equip security guards with “better fire extinguishers and more lighting during night time.”
More frequent patrols will also be carried out by airport police, he added.
According to a statement released by MIAA after the fire last April 22, the blaze started “from a small grass fire which rapidly progressed, burning several nearby vehicles parked thereat.”