A commercial structure along Dr. A. Santos Avenue in UPS 5, Barangay San Isidro, Parañaque City sustained over P30 million in structural damage after a massive fire broke out late Friday night and raged for more than six hours before being contained.
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), the blaze started on the ground floor inside a hardware store. Highly flammable inventory, including paint, thinner, plywood, and electrical wiring, caused the flames to rapidly escalate, forcing authorities to raise the alert level to a fifth alarm by 12:14 a.m. Saturday.
Approximately 80 fire trucks responded to the scene, including emergency units deployed from nearby Cavite and Laguna. Firefighters successfully prevented further spread thanks to adequate water supplies from two local hydrants and a large influx of responding personnel. No casualties, injuries, or missing persons were reported from the incident.
Parañaque City Fire Marshal FSUP Liher Barrios confirmed the decision to escalate the alert level due to the structural contents. “We raised it to the fifth alarm because when we assessed the fire earlier, the contents involved included paint and construction materials because this is a building,” Barrios stated.
Building security guard Ariel Seva reported hearing an explosion inside the structure shortly before noticing the flames. “Mga 11:40 pm nandito ako sa labas. May narinig ako na pagsabog doon sa loob. Hindi ko lang muna pinansin kasi nasanay na rin ako na palagi naman may kumakalampag diyan kasi [ginagalaw] ng pusa yung mga pintura,” Seva recalled.
Upon entering the facility moments later, Seva saw the fire already consuming the hallway. “Hindi ko muna pumasok. Noong pagpasok na ako, mga ilang minuto, nakita ko malaki na ang apoy. May mga apoy na sa loob sa may pinaka-hallway namin. Nagtakbo na ako palabas kasi hindi ko kaya. Ma-suffocate na ako sa loob e. Nanghingi na ako ng tulong sa mga enforcer diyan magtawag ng bumbero,” he recounted.
Seva noted that electrical breakers had been turned off by staff prior to leaving, suspecting stored chemicals may have ignited under intense heat. “Yung kuryente namin, naka-off ang mga breaker niyan tuwing pag-out ng mga empleyado namin. Naka-off yan lahat ng mga breaker kaya yung mga kuryente diyan, secured yan… Sa mga locker (thinner) yata, mga pintura, yung mga kemikal. May mga kemikal kasi diyan e. Yung sa pintura talaga mga locker siguro. Nasobrahan ng init,” Seva added.
While store employees managed to retrieve some items before evacuating, both the business owners and staff declined to issue formal comments. BFP investigators are continuing their probe to establish the official cause of the ignition.