Fire at Calaca LPG plant under control; residents still at evacuation centers

After almost two days, the fire at the liquefied petroleum gas plant of South Pacific Inc. in Calaca, Batangas has been declared under control. Residents however were still at evacuation centers, a report on Unang Balita on Monday said.

Firemen from the Bureau of Fire Protection were still at the plant as of posting time, a report by GMA News' Isay Reyes said.

Ten fire trucks were still inside the compound and were expected to remain in the said location for the rest of the day.

Although no fire could be seen, smoke was still rising from the plant.

The LPG tanks were still being emptied, the report said.

Residents at evacuation centers

On Monday morning, affected residents of Brgy. Salon were still at evacuation centers such as the Calaca Elementary School.

The residents were preemptively evacuated on Saturday after fire broke out at the plant.

The local government of Calaca estimated the number of evacuees to be at 1,126 individuals or 296 families. They were housed in three evacuation centers.

Some residents said they had to evacuate since the explosion at the plant was very loud on Saturday that they felt their barangay would be blown off the map.

The fire reached the general alarm on Saturday.

Two persons were reported injured—Mark Anthony Dechosa of Parañaque BFP who experienced suffocation and had injuries on the left arm, and Almer Aniosa of Malabon, an employee of the LPG Marketers Association, who suffered from chemical inhalation.

The two were still at the hospital as of Monday morning but were recovering from their injuries.

Calaca was placed under a state of emergency due to the fire. —KG, GMA News