2 hurt in Pasay nightclub fire

A guest relations officer and a waiter were hurt when fire hit a nightclub in Libertad, Pasay City last Tuesday night.

Suffering burns in the face and arms were Lenny Valdez, 20, and Miguel Rosales, 22, both employees of the Miss Universal Disco and KTV located along F.B. Harrison street. Both were rushed to the San Juan de Dios Hospital. They are now in stable condition.

Initially, there were fears that people were trapped inside the nightclub, particularly those in VIP lounges.

Thick black smoke engulfed the nightclub shortly after flames broke out at the stage area at around 10:25 p.m. It was not immediately known what triggered the fire that lasted for more than three hours.

Thick smoke hampered efforts by firefighters and volunteers in search of people who were believed to be trapped inside the rooms.

SFO3 Cesar Domingo, officer-in-charge of the operation, said they had to destroy the roof to let the smoke out.

Domingo said they also had to ask for assistance from the manager so firefighters could find their way through the smoke in search of people.

FO3 Renato Recto said damage to property has been estimated at P10 million. "This is quite high since many electronic devices were destroyed."

Recto said there were at least 200 people inside the club at the time of the incident. "Although there was a stampede, all of them managed to get out of the club," he said.

Rosales, a waiter at the videoke bar, managed to get out when fire broke out at the stage, but went back in with a fire extinguisher in an attempt to control the fire.

He and Valdez, a GRO, suffered first to second degree burns.

The blaze reached the third alarm before the Pasay City fire department declared a fire-out at around 1:45 a.m.