Six Dead In Hotel Fire

[Okieboy]

Foreigners are believed to be among six people who died on Friday when a fire razed a small hotel near a former US naval base in the Philippines, rescue officials said.

Based on the hotel's guest list, three American men, a South Korean man, and two women of unspecified nationalities had checked into the rooms where six bodies were later found, Olongapo city civil defence chief Angelito Layug said.

However, investigators have yet to identify the victims of the pre-dawn blaze that hit the Dryden hotel in the northern port's entertainment district, he told AFP.

"This area has a fairly large population of retired American servicemen," he said.

They settled in and around Olongapo after the US military pulled out of the nearby Subic Naval Base in 1991, Layug added.

Carlo Elepong, an aide to Layug, described one of the victims as a man in his 80s, but the authorities declined to release the guest list.

City fire investigator Jose Borlagdatan said the hotel was a small building with barred windows that was situated in a narrow stree

[Call me bubba]

yes its a shame that some guests have died in a possible perhaps preventable accident

1 tip that should be shared ,

IS TO KNOW YOUR SURRONDINGS

know,where is the closest exit and alternative, does the windows open FULLY?

if your at your house, do you have a smoke alarm/detector(please dont place it near your cooking areas)

2. do you know how to get out if its SMOKED FILLED?

windows barred?

its not the fire that kills most persons

Its that DAmm smoke thats the KILLER,

i have spoken , now back to the roof-top

[Jollygoodfellow]

Another report and I guess it was an old wooden building and cheap. :(

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines — A fast-moving fire ripped through a small hotel early Friday morning near the former United States naval base in Subic Bay, killing seven people, including four foreign visitors to the area, officials said.

The fire started on the ground floor of the Dryden Hotel Subic, in the Barrio Barretto entertainment district, sending flames and smoke into upstairs rooms where guests were sleeping, Jose Borlagdatan, Olongapo City’s chief fire investigator, said in an interview outside the establishment.

Fire investigators on the scene described a hellish situation as the fire raged through the hotel’s upper floors, where guests died trying to escape fast-moving flames and intense smoke. One woman was found dead cowering in a cabinet apparently trying to avoid the smoke.

“The casualties were the people sleeping upstairs,” said Mr. Borlagdatan, who added that the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

Mr. Borlagdatan said hotel front desk registration records helped identify three American fatalities – James Brigati of Kodiak, Alaska, and Patrick Burt and Joseph Valuso, whose cities of residence were not known. A South Korean national was identified as Kyung Ook Kim of Suwan City.

The other casualties were nationals of the Philippines whose identities had not yet been determined, Mr. Borlagdatan said.

The fire department received the initial report of the blaze at 3:37 a.m. Friday morning and quickly extinguished it upon arriving at the scene, said Mr. Barlagdatan.

Jovy Lustre, a cashier and front desk clerk working at the hotel when the fire broke out, that she was alerted when a co-worker ran from the back of the establishment yelling “fire.”

Ms. Lustre said she checked the back of the hotel and saw fire near a back office, with flames licking the ceiling and sending smoke gushing forward. She said she tried to call the fire department but the hotel phone had no dial tone. She ran to a nearby community center to report the incident.

“The fire got bigger and bigger,” she said. “It was fast.”

On Friday afternoon, the hotel – which is along a national highway about 100 miles north of Manila – appeared gutted. The windows on the second floor, where guests where sleeping when the fire broke out, were broken and the panes were charred.

The hotel, lodged between the Lollipop and Rum Jungle nightclubs, which were also damaged in the fire, offered rooms from $20 to $30 for visitors to the beach and entertainment district near Subic Bay.

The United States turned over the Subic Bay Naval Base to the Philippines in 1991 and since then the facility has been transformed into a special economic zone. Neighboring Olongapo City was a booming red-light district for decades while the navy base supported the operations of the American navy’s Seventh Fleet.

In the 20 years since the base was handed over, Olongapo has retained a red-light district but has also gained popularity as a popular beach resort area for Filipino families seeking to escape the heat and congestion of Manila.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/world/asia/philippines-hotel-fire-deaths.html?_r=0

[Okieboy]

It was owned by a retired service man

[Americano]

After reading the story now we know why the guests died in their rooms. The two hotel employees were too stupid to wake up the hotel guests.

[Dave Hounddriver]

The two hotel employees were too stupid to wake up the hotel guests.

I'm not sure how they would do that. To me it would be stupid to run up and down the stairs yelling "FIRE" choke choke "FIRE"

The reason they died probably has more to do with all windows, doors and fire escapes being barred and locked so there was no way out. At least that is the way many cheap hotels are in Cebu. I make the sign of the cross every time I stay in one.

[Call me bubba]

co-worker ran from the back of the establishment yelling “fire.” Ms. Lustre said she checked the back of the hotel and saw fire near a back office,

. She said she tried to call the fire department but the hotel phone had no dial tone. She ran to a nearby community center to report the incident.

My only word for this persons actions is PURE STUPIDITY

After reading the news article by JGF now it makes more sense.

SHAME and other words( not posted as forum has rules) on the employees of this firm

shows that COMMON SENSE was no where during this incident.

Had this been in a 1st world country the employees would have done their best to awaken the Guests and had they not done so i am certain that an Arrest for "negligence" would occur.

not SORRY SIR

as i said in a previous post.

KNOW YOUR SURROUNDINGS thats the best you can have in your favor

when these incidents occur

[SubicSteve]

It was owned by a retired service man

It was owned by Dave Fischer, a retired radiologist.

[Mike S]

The entrance to the hotel I believe is down stairs and I wouldn't run upstairs into the fire either to try and wake someone up ..... there was an open balcony on the 2nd floor facing the street but I suppose the guests were over come with smoke before they could reach it ...... also could be that many of the guests had a bit to much to drink and before they realized it it was to late to get out ..... there are I believe 2 bars down stairs if I'm not mistaken ..... but one thing I noticed is that the fire exit was padlocked ..... that is a no no ..... tragic indeed

[SubicSteve]

The entrance to the hotel I believe is down stairs and I wouldn't run upstairs into the fire either to try and wake someone up ..... there was an open balcony on the 2nd floor facing the street but I suppose the guests were over come with smoke before they could reach it ...... also could be that many of the guests had a bit to much to drink and before they realized it it was to late to get out ..... there are I believe 2 bars down stairs if I'm not mistaken ..... but one thing I noticed is that the fire exit was padlocked ..... that is a no no ..... tragic indeed

The lock on the gate is not a fire exit. The gate is used during the rainy season so people can walk from one area to another without getting wet. The fire exit is located in the front of the hotel with a ladder down to safety. This was fully operational as the firemen were seen using it in the early morning.

Also in some reports, they were claiming bars on the windows. There are no security bars on any of the windows. They are the swing out type. Not one window was open or attempted to be opened.