Fire razed Kentex, a factory producing rubber slippers in Bgy. Ugong, Valenzuela City last May 13, 2015 at 10:40pm. According to Junjun Galas, a survivor who worked in the factory, the fire started after sparks from welding equipment ignited chemicals stored nearby.
Seventy two victims of the slipper factory died in the incident, 69 were burned beyond identification. In an interview from Rhyan Sousa, department head of Valenzuela city Public Information Office, DNA examination will be conducted to identify the bodies. For the meantime, families can only view the retrieved bodies. “As early as four in the morning we are able to recover 3 bodies on the site, we waited until there is an official declaration that the fire was out to get to the second floor of the building, that was about six in the morning where we retrieved 69 bodies,” said Sousa.
“It is impossible to escape since our windows were barred with grills and chicken wire, there is no fire exit. There are only two exits in the area, one is where the fire started and the other was locked,” said Galas.
Galas’ wife, a worker at Kentex factory for ten years, died during the tragedy. “I could not bear look at her charred remains. I called on my older brother to help me identify my wife,” added. His brother was unable to identify Junjun Galas’ partner due to the condition of the body, which were burnt beyond recognition.
As of May 14, workers’ families complained that neither the management of Kentex Manufacturing Corporation nor the local government has offered compensation for the victims, asides from the DNA extraction and the help desk put up for the victims’ families.
