AT least 20 people were injured in a fire that gutted a gas station in Pasig City early Wednesday.
According to Sr. Insp. Anthony Arroyo of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Pasig City, the fire started at 1:06 a.m. at the storage area of the Ragasco Refilling Station along Sandoval Street, Barangay San Miguel.
Arroyo said the fire was caused by a leak from an LPG that spread out to nearby gas stations Flying V and Omni Gas Corp., a hardware, and several houses near the area.
The injured victims were rushed to various hospitals. Thirteen of them were in critical condition after suffering third-degree burns.
Some employees of the LPG station tried to control the leak before alerting the fire department.
“We know that LPG, if it leaks, is heavier than air so they had initial operations, perhaps to cool it down,” Senior Supt. Wilberto Kwan-Tiu, District Director ng BFP-Pasig, explained.
“However, the fumes that accumulated in confined spaces and rooms triggered the explosion that’s why there are two Ground Zeros,” he added.
Fire officials estimated damage to property at P20 million.