Batangas gas facility fire continues to rage

The municipality of Calaca in Batangas has been placed under a state of emergency after a fire that struck a liquefied petroleum gas facility continued to blaze over 10 hours after it first broke out.

Nagdeklara ng state of emergency ang lokal na pamahalaan ng Calaca, Batangas dahil sa sunog na nagaganap ngayon sa South Pacific LPG plant.

— Vonne Aquino (@vonneaquino) February 20, 2016

Firefighters throughout Southern Tagalog were ordered to rush to Calaca to contain the fire that struck the Phoenix Petroterminals & Industrial Park late Saturday afternoon.

At total of 115 families living near the facility have been evacuated to four schools far from the facility.

The evacuation was ordered after the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) raised the general alarm.

Amateur videos and pictures taken by netizens and posted online show a thick column of smoke and flames leaping out of the facility.

Senior Superintendent Sergio Soriano Jr., BFP's regional director in Calabarzon, said the fire may last two or three more days because the facility's four capsule tanks contain 7,000 metric tons of LPG.

He said they are no longer deploying firemen near the capsules because of possible explosions.

He said that firemen will continue to pour water around the facility to contain the fire.

Two employees at the industrial park were rushed to two separate hospitals due to suffocation and chemical inhalation.

Lawyer Raymond Zorilla, vice president for external affairs of Phoenix Petroleum, said in an interview over radio dzBB that the fire may have been caused by a problem with a pressure valve within the facility.

"Ngayong medyo humina na ang apoy pero ang agreement at order ng ground commander ng BFP ay hayaan na maubos ang produkto," Zorilla said.

He said they will continue to coordinate with the local fire bureau and the local government. —APG/DVM/ALG, GMA News