Fire razes Olongapo City’s iconic pizza restaurant

INQUIRER FILES

OLONGAPO CITY — A fire that broke out late Sunday morning engulfed one of the city’s oldest and most iconic business establishments, marking a significant loss for Olongapo’s local heritage.

Vice Mayor Aquilino Cortez said the Olongapo City Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) received an emergency call at 11:38 a.m. reporting a blaze along Magsaysay Drive. Witnesses said the fire originated in a commercial space housing a bingo operation before rapidly spreading to adjacent businesses, including a car rental service and the beloved Sam’s Pizza.

Established in July 1976, Sam’s Pizza is considered a local institution. Known for its tacos and family-style dining, the restaurant first opened in Olongapo’s then red-light district, catering to U.S. Navy personnel and city residents. Over the decades, it became a symbol of resilience, having survived the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the withdrawal of the U.S. Naval Forces from Subic Bay in 1992, and the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

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Responders from the Olongapo BFP, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Fire Department, and the Philippine Red Cross were on the scene within minutes. They managed to bring the blaze under control about one hour after the first alarm.

As of this writing, fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire. INQ