10 severely burned, some ‘very critical’ in Cavite factory fire – Gov. Remulla

At least 10 people suffered third-degree burns while some are in “very critical” condition after a fire hit the House Technology Industries (HTI) factory at the Cavite Economic Processing Zone in Rosario, Cavite Gov. Boying Remulla said on Thursday.

“There were 104 people in the hospital last night. There were 10 who had third-degree burns and some of them are very critical,” Remulla told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

“We're trying to arrange for the transfer to PGH (Philippine General Hospital) right now,” he added.

Remulla said he has already ordered the company to make an inventory of all the employees so they can determine the exact number of casualties and missing persons.

“Kasi ngayong oras na ito, all these people outside are supposed to be inside the factory which is [still] burning. Kaya ina-account pa namin ang lahat ng tao so we know who are missing and who are in the hospital para malaman namin kung ilan talaga ang nawawala at ma-trace natin kung anong nangyari sa kanila,” he said.

“When something of this scale happens, it's not easy to go into numbers of people and body counts. This is not what they want, ayaw natin noon e,” he added.

Remulla said the fire has not been completely put out yet, since smoke is still billowing from the scene.

A report by GMA News' Mav Gonzales on “Unang Balita” said the fire started around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Based on initial information, the fire started with the power saw that malfunctioned.

Fire Senior Supt. Sergio Soriano Jr., Calabarzon BFP regional director, in the report said, "Biglang nagkalat daw 'yung apoy. Andun 'yung mga pintura, insulator. Madali kasing magkalat ang apoy sa ganung elemento."

The BFP raised the fire alarm to Task Force Delta around midnight when the fire reached the third floor of the establishment.

In a separate phone interview with GMA News Online on Thursday morning, Soriano said fire operations are still ongoing.

He, however, noted that the fire was declared under control at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday.

“Under control na kasi hindi naman na ito magdadamay pa ng ibang building,” Soriano said.

While there was no official estimated cost of damage, Remulla said it could be as much as P3 billion.

“Ako personally, ilagay mo na lang sa P30,000 times 60,000 [square meters]. 'Yung area pa lang 'yun, hindi pa kasama 'yung materials na nasunog. Times two pa yun. Maybe P3 billion would be a fair estimate right now,” he said.

The governor said they have already coordinated with agencies to help address the fire incident. 

“We organized teams to go over there including the SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operatives), Disaster Victim Identification in case may makitang patay diyan. Ino-organize po namin ang lahat,” Remulla said.

“We're preparing for the worst. Mabuti nang handa tayo kesa hindi handa,” he added. — RSJ, GMA News