Gotesco inferno mocks fire prevention drive

Firefighters on Saturday try to put out the fire that has been gutting Ever Gotesco Grand Central Mall in Caloocan City since Friday. INQUIRER/ARNOLD ALMACEN

MANILA, Philippines—Fire Prevention Month gave firefighters their single biggest challenge so far this year, in the form a monster blaze that engulfed one of Metro Manila’s oldest shopping centers.

As of 7 p.m. Saturday night, a fire that began at around 10:45 p.m. on Friday continued to rage at Ever Gotesco Grand Central Mall in Caloocan City, starting at the interior and spreading to the parking area at the back of the complex.

Though the flames were not visible from outside the mall, the smoke and the heat prevented firefighters from taking out at least 50 LPG tanks which were earlier stacked at the mall’s parking area, said Mar Flordeliza, an investigator of the interagency task force of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“If the fire reaches the tanks, we may have a series of explosions,” Flordeliza said when reached by the Inquirer early last night.

Shop owners like Chona Lanan could only watch helplessly on Saturday as thick smoke continued to envelop parts of the mall.

“I’ve been waiting here since early in the morning but they haven’t let us in. I’m worried about my merchandise,” Lanan, who sells cell phones and other electronic devices.

Officials said the fire apparently started from a Rusty Lopez stall on the ground floor due to faulty electrical wiring.

No deaths were reported but the Philippine National Red Cross said at least one fire volunteer, Renato Sabar, sustained injuries from broken glass.