DAVAO CITY: A government investigator into a blaze that led to the deaths of 37 staff at the southern Philippines offices of an American market research firm says there are indications of fire safety lapses that may have contributed to the tragedy.
The December 23 blaze in Davao City broke out at a furniture and fabric store on the third level of a mall, the New City Commercial Center (NCCC), and then engulfed the offices of the US firm, Research Now SSI, on the fourth floor of the same building in choking smoke.
The only person among the 38 killed in the fire who didn’t work at the firm was a mall security officer. More than 100 SSI employees who were on duty that day managed to escape, of whom six were injured.
Initial evidence from an ongoing investigation by Philippine government agencies indicates sprinkler systems on the 3rd and 4th floors of the building weren’t working as their valves were closed, said Senior Superintendent Jerry Candido, who is director of logistics at the Philippines’ Bureau of Fire Protection and one of the lead investigators into the fire.
Candido said that Research Now SSI employees may have been unaware of the fire beneath them for some time because their office had its own alarm that was not connected to the system used by the mall. “That explains why people inside the SSI were not aware that fire is happening just below their floor,” he told Reuters in an interview.
His comments are the most extensive yet made publicly on the progress of the investigation.
In a statement issued in the US on Friday, Research Now SSI said it is working with the authorities involved in the probe into the fire and is “confident that an impartial investigation will reveal that it has complied with all the security and safety requirements required by law.”
“We are focused on helping our employees and the victims’ families, and cooperating with the government agencies, over the coming weeks and months,” said the firm’s CEO Gary Laben.
Darry Gallego, assistant vice president of corporate services at NCCC, said the mall could not comment on an ongoing investigation, but stressed that safety requirements had been met, including having a sprinkler system.
“The mall had passed through all the needed safety examinations and was certified by the authorities as being safe to operate and serve the public,” Gallego said in an email.
Candido cautioned that the investigation is still some way from being completed and it has yet to reach firm conclusions, particularly on the issue of liability.
SSI, which rented the offices from NCCC, needed to have its own operating sprinkler system to get its annual fire safety inspection certificate, which was in turn required for its yearly business permit renewal, Candido said.
Investigators will look into whether there were any questions that came up when NCCC and SSI were granted these certificates this year and in previous years, he said.
NCCC last got the certificate in April 2017 and SSI in September 2017, according to Honee Fritz Alagano, Davao City fire marshall and spokeswoman for the Bureau of Fire Protection in the city. That was after passing the Davao City Bureau of Fire Protection’s annual inspections, she said.
Candido said it was the responsibility of both building owners and tenants to make sure that alarm and sprinkler systems were installed and operating. Under the nation’s fire code, if there were two alarm systems they should be integrated so that the mall’s would have triggered SSI’s, and vice-versa.
Barbara Palmer, SSI’s senior vice president for global marketing, said in an email response to a series of Reuters’ questions about fire safety at its Davao offices that the firm could not address them specifically while the investigation is ongoing.
Gallego from NCCC also declined to comment on specific safety issues.
Candido said investigators are also looking at whether the ceiling material in the call center was flammable but haven’t drawn any conclusions yet.
He also said that the investigation was looking at some major structural questions concerning the SSI offices and how they related to the rest of the mall – issues that may not have put anyone in breach of regulations.
For example, while SSI’s fire exits would have passed inspection, only one of them had stairs leading directly outside the building. The others, he said, headed back into the mall. These areas quickly filled up with smoke making them useless as a means to escape, he said.
Indeed, the position of the offices in the mall may have put them at high risk as the smoke from a fire elsewhere in the building would be funneled toward the offices, Candido said.
“When fire occurred in any part of the mall, SSI will be fully engulfed. That explains why the exits were not used because they were cut off by the smoke,” he said.
Candido separately told reporters that initial findings indicated the fire was caused by an electrical problem in the ceiling at the furniture and fabric store, exacerbated by the failure of the sprinkler system on that same floor.
He also said the Research Now SSI records showed that the firm’s latest fire drill was poorly attended. He did not say when the exercise took place. “Out of hundreds of personnel, less than 10 participated,” he said, adding that three of those died in the blaze.
NCCC’s Gallego and SSI’s Palmer declined to comment on Candido’s assertions.
Alagano, the fire marshall, said that soundproofing in SSI’s offices meant that staff may not have heard the alarm go off in the mall. She also said it is clear that some employees went to their lockers to get their mobile phones before trying to evacuate, wasting precious time.
The probe will also be looking at how long it took the mall to call the fire brigade. Alagano said the fire likely started some time between 9.40am and 948am, but the fire service database showed it didn’t get the call until 10.05am and firefighters arrived five minutes after that.
Probe into deadly fire at US firm’s Philippines offices focuses on possible safety lapses
Probe into deadly fire at US firm’s Philippines offices focuses on possible safety lapses
India’s capital sees first heat-related death this year, media reports
- India experiencing a severe heat wave conditions for weeks, and the temperature in Delhi reached a record high of 52.9 degrees Celsius
NEW DELHI: India’s capital Delhi recorded its first heat-related death this year as temperatures reached record highs, media reported on Thursday.
Parts of northwest and central India have been experiencing heat wave to severe heat wave conditions for weeks, and the temperature in Delhi reached a record high of 52.9 degrees Celsius in Mungeshpur neighborhood on Wednesday.
That reading may be revised however, as maximum temperatures in other parts of the city ranged from 45.2 C to 49.1 C.
The capital territory’s first heat-related fatality this year was a 40-year-old laborer who died of heatstroke on Wednesday, The Indian Express newspaper reported.
Delhi’s lieutenant governor on Wednesday directed the government to ensure measures were taken to protect laborers by providing water and shaded areas at construction sites and granting them paid leave from noon to 3 p.m.
Delhi recorded a temperature of 36 C which felt like 37.8 C on Thursday morning, according to India’s weather department. It has predicted heat wave to severe heat wave conditions over northwest and central India will begin reducing gradually from today.
India classifies a heat wave as a situation where the maximum temperature is 4.5 C to 6.4 C above normal, while a severe heat wave occurs when the maximum is higher than normal by 6.5 degrees or more.
NATO meets as pressure grows to let Ukraine hit Russia
- The gathering in the Czech capital is meant to focus on efforts to support Ukraine at NATO’s summit in Washington in July
PRAGUE:NATO foreign ministers meet in Prague on Thursday in the face of growing calls for leading allies to lift restrictions stopping Kyiv from using Western weapons to strike inside Russia.
The two-day gathering in the Czech capital is meant to focus on efforts to hammer out a package of support for Ukraine at NATO’s summit in Washington in July.
But the swirling debate over whether to let Kyiv use arms sent by Western backers to strike inside Russia risks overshadowing the meeting.
Ukraine has been pressing its supporters — chiefly the United States — to allow it to use the longer-range weaponry they supply to hit targets inside Russia.
The United States and Germany have so far refused to permit Kyiv to strike over the border out of fear that it could drag them closer to direct conflict with Moscow.
Ahead of the NATO meeting — which starts with a dinner on Thursday — alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said repeatedly it was time for members to reconsider those limits as they hamper Kyiv’s ability to defend itself.
French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to shift the dial on Tuesday when he said Ukraine should be allowed to “neutralize” bases in Russia used to launch strikes.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, remained less committal, saying Ukraine should act within the law — and Berlin had not supplied the weapons to hit Russia anyway.
Across the Atlantic, the White House said it still opposed Ukraine using US arms to strike inside Russia, although Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted that that strategy could change.
Moscow, meanwhile, has reacted strongly — with President Vladimir Putin warning there would be “serious consequences” if Western countries give approval to Ukraine.
Those pressing for Ukraine to be given a freer rein say they hope momentum is building for the United States and others to change course as Kyiv struggles to stop Russia’s offensive in the Kharkiv region.
“Clearly president Macron’s ideas help allies who believe this rule should change,” said a diplomat from one NATO country.
“I hope the debates in the US will take Macron’s ideas into consideration.”
As NATO allies wrestle with that issue, ministers in Prague are also trying to come up with a support package that keeps Ukraine satisfied as its hopes of eventual membership remain a distant prospect.
After pressing hard at a summit last year, Kyiv has been told firmly by NATO countries — led by the United States and Germany — that it should not expect any concrete progress toward joining the alliance in Washington.
NATO chief Stoltenberg instead wants to get alliance members to make clear, multi-year commitments on how much aid they’ll give to Ukraine in the future.
Last month he floated an overall target figure of 100 billion euros ($108 billion) over five years, but that fell flat among allies confused over what it would involve.
“People understand you need to announce something, but they don’t just want it to be air,” the Western diplomat said.
Diplomats say debate is still ongoing as allies try to work out what any pledges would cover and how they might be structured.
One area where NATO does seem closer to agreement is a plan for the alliance to take over from the United States coordination of weapon supplies to Ukraine.
So far, Washington has been in charge as NATO has stayed clear of involvement in delivering arms due to worries it would incite Russia.
Proponents say making the alliance overall responsible could help insulate future deliveries against a possible return of Donald Trump to the US presidency.
But others fear it might just add more bureaucracy.
“The first hope is to not make it less effective than the current system,” a second Western diplomat said.
Diplomats say that to avoid opposition from Hungary — one of the friendliest countries to Russia in the alliance — Budapest has been given an “opt-out” not to be involved.
4 Pakistanis killed by Iranian border guards in remote southwestern region, Pakistani officials say
- he incident happened near the border village of Mashkel in Baluchistan province on Wednesday
QUETTA: Iranian border guards opened fire at a vehicle carrying a group of Pakistanis, killing four people and wounding two others in a remote area in the southwest, Pakistani officials said Thursday.
The incident happened near the border village of Mashkel in Baluchistan province on Wednesday, local police said. Government administrator Sahibzada Asfand said it was unclear why the Iranian forces opened fire.
Local police say the bodies of the four men had been handed over to their families.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran or Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
Security forces on both sides often arrest smugglers and insurgents who operate in the region. Pakistan in tit-for-tat strikes in January targeted alleged militant hideouts inside Iran, killing at least nine people in retaliation for a similar attack by Iran.
China could arrange Russia-Ukraine peace conference, Lavrov tells RIA
- Russia has repeatedly called for talks with a precondition that Kyiv and the West recognize its territorial gains in Ukraine
- Lavrov criticized the United States for aiding Ukraine, which Russian invaded in February 2022
China could arrange a peace conference in which Russia and Ukraine would participate, the RIA news agency cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Thursday.
Lavrov said such a move would be a continuation of Beijing’s efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
“We share (China’s) position that the root causes of the conflict need to be addressed in the first place and legal interests of all parties need to be protected, with subsequent agreements based on the principle of equal and indivisible security,” Lavrov said in an interview with the agency.
“Let me underscore again, this entails respecting realities on the ground, which reflect the will of people living there.”
Russia has repeatedly called for talks with a precondition that Kyiv and the West recognize its territorial gains in Ukraine. Kyiv has rejected those proposals.
Lavrov criticized the United States for aiding Ukraine, saying Washington has become “an accomplice in the crimes of the Kyiv regime.” In the Middle East, Lavrov said, the United States was also “fanning the flames of conflict.”
‘Are you with me?’ Biden and Harris launch Black voter outreach and warn of a second Trump term
- Speaking at Girard College, which has a predominantly Black student body, Biden argued that an “unhinged” Trump is peddling misinformation in an effort to win back the White House
PHILADELPHIA: President Joe Biden renewed his election-year pitch to Black voters on Wednesday, lashing out at Donald Trump’s “MAGA lies” and saying the winner of this year’s White House race will make crucial decisions, including on nominees for the Supreme Court, that could affect the country for decades.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, in a joint appearance at a Philadelphia boarding school, thanked Black voters in Pennsylvania and beyond for being the lynchpin to their 2020 victory and they made the case that their agenda has had an enormous impact on improving lives for Black voters.
The Democratic president also argued that an “unhinged” Trump is peddling misinformation in an effort to win back the White House.
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Donald Trump turn America into a place of anger, resentment and hate,” Biden said, calling on the crowd to help him and Harris win a second term. “My question is a simple one: Are you with me?”
At Girard College, which has a predominantly Black student body, Biden warned about the threat he said a second Trump presidency would pose and cited some of the racial controversies fanned by the presumptive Republican nominee during his life.
“This is the same guy who wanted to tear gas you as you peacefully protested George Floyd’s murder. The same guy who still calls the Central Park Five guilty, even though they were exonerated,” Biden told the crowd. “He’s that landlord who denies housing applications because of the color of your skin.”
The Philadelphia visit was the start of what the Biden campaign describes as a summerlong effort to engage Black student organizations, community groups and faith centers. It reflects in part how much of their support of him has frayed as Trump aims to make inroads into the longtime Democratic constituency.
The issue of abortion rights and the judiciary also featured in the remarks from Biden and Harris. Biden pledged to codify the protections of Roe vs. Wade, the now-nullified Supreme Court decision that had legalized the right to an abortion, if he and enough Democratic lawmakers are elected, while Harris noted that Trump dramatically shaped the Supreme Court as she invoked the name of Thurgood Marshall, the high court’s first Black justice.
Trump, she said, “handpicked three members of the Supreme Court — the court of Thurgood — with the intention that they would overturn Roe vs. Wade,” the landmark abortion rights ruling. “And as he intended, they did.”
“Who sits in the White House matters,” she said.
Underscoring that point later, Biden said the next president is “going to be able to appoint a couple justices.” With some vacancies on the Supreme Court, Biden said he could “put in really progressive judges, like we’ve always had.”
“Tell me that won’t change your life,” he said.
Among Black adults, Biden’s approval has dropped from 94 percent when he started his term to just 55 percent, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published in March.
The economy has been a particular thorn in Biden’s side since 2022, when inflation hit a 40-year high. But there have also been signs of discontent in the Black community more recently over Biden’s handling of the seven-month Israel-Hamas war.
Turning out Black voters could prove pivotal for Biden’s chances in what’s expected to be among the most closely contested states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Biden beat Trump in all six states in 2020, but he could face a more difficult climb this year.
Trump has been offering himself as a better president for Black voters than Biden. At a rally last week in the Bronx, he railed against Biden on immigration and said “the biggest negative impact” of the influx of migrants in New York is “against our Black population and our Hispanic population who are losing their jobs, losing their housing, losing everything they can lose.”
The Republican National Committee zeroed in on gas prices and food costs under Biden’s presidency as it attacked his stop in Pennsylvania.
“No matter how much Biden lies, he cannot gaslight Pennsylvanians into supporting him — his approval ratings are abysmal,” RNC Chair Michael Whatley said. “President Trump continues to lead in polls in Pennsylvania and across the country. Pennsylvanians are ready to Make America Great Again, and they will vote for President Donald J. Trump in November.”
The Biden campaign wants to use the new engagement effort in part to remind Black voters of some of the Democratic administration’s achievements during his term. On Wednesday, Biden repeated the refrain “because you voted” as he rattled off a litany of his accomplishments for Black Americans, including record funding for historically Black colleges and universities, forgiveness of federal student loan debt and pardons for simple possession of marijuana.
“Black voters placed enormous faith in me,” Biden said. “I’ve tried to do my best to honor that trust.”
Biden later visited with Black business owners at SouthSide, an event space, and greeted supporters there while continuing to tout his accomplishments for Black voters and, in particular, the economic gains under his presidency. In the more intimate gathering, jointly hosted by the African-American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, he also stressed to the crowd that “there’s not a damn thing that a white man can do that a Black man can’t do, or do better.”
The Black unemployment rate sits at 5.6 percent, according to the latest federal government data, compared with an average of about 8 percent from 2016 to 2020 and 11 percent from 2000 to 2015. Black household wealth has surged, and Biden’s effort to cancel billions in student loan debt has disproportionately affected Black borrowers.
Biden also points to his appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female justice on the US Supreme Court and his pick of Harris as the first Black woman to serve as vice president.
The president’s visit to Philadelphia follows a series of engagements with Black community members in recent weeks, including hosting plaintiffs in the 1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down institutionalized racial segregation in public schools, a commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta, and a virtual address to the Rev. Al Sharpton’s racial justice conference.
