2 AFP men critical as fire probe begins

MANILA, Philippines—Two of the responders in Wednesday’s fire that hit a Philippine Army building containing ammo and explosives remained in critical condition due to severe burns, as military and civilian probes got under way to determine the cause of the blaze and possibly pin responsibility.

1st Lt. Dinar Alosada and MSgt. Ferdinand Rafal suffered burns covering 80 percent of their bodies, their condition being monitored at the AFP Medical Center with the help of specialists from the Department of Health.

At least 25 people from the military, fire bureau and volunteer groups sustained injuries in the 10 a.m. blaze that set off a series of explosions at the Army Support Command (Ascom) compound inside Fort Bonifacio.

Although the fire was declared under control after about an hour, explosions were still being heard in the mid-afternoon and firefighters spent the rest of the day flooding the site as it continued to emit plumes of smoke. Clearing operations were completed around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, chief of military public affairs office, clarified that the gutted one-story structure was not an armory, contrary to media reports, saying the explosives and ordnance housed there were only for training purposes.

The AFP’s magazines or underground storage for munitions and weapons are not in Metro Manila “obviously for safety reasons,” Zagala said.

Zagala said the Ascom inspector general would be conducting an administrative investigation to see if there were lapses or violations of policy by officials of the Explosives and Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Battalion, the unit that used the building.

“It’s hard to make conclusions at the moment,” he said. “We’re first attending to the needs of our personnel.”

The Bureau of Fire Protection, along with the Army, would conduct a technical investigation into the cause of the fire, Zagala said.