Fire hits Mariveles shipyard warehouse


MARIVELES, Bataan, Philippines — Millions of pesos worth of fertilizer went up in smoke Saturday after a fire triggered by an explosion gutted the warehouse of the Seafront Shipyard in Barangay Lucanin, this town.

Responding fire trucks took almost half day fighting the conflagration before it was contained.
Superintendent Joel Tampis, chief of police here, reported that security guard Joel Levantino, who sustained injuries, was the only casualty in the fire.
Senior Supt. Arnold D. Gunnacao, Bataan Police Provincial Office (PPO) director, said the fire started at the warehouse where a big volume of ammonium nitrate (fertilizer) was stocked.
The fertilizer stock was reportedly imported and ready to be delivered to different points in the country when an explosion set off the fire.
Gunnacao said that, owing to the sudden spread of the fire, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) raised the fire alarm to Level 4, drawing fire trucks from neighboring towns and volunteer firefighting units.
Residents here expressed sadness over the incident since the owner of the shipyard businessman, Virgilio Ignacio, is a known philanthropist who supports church and other socio-civic activities.

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