2007 Bocaue fire

Bocaue is well known in the Philippines for its fireworks production and is nicknamed the "Fireworks Capital of the Philippines"; however, because of this, the town is also susceptible to large fires every New Year.

On December 29, 1988, the town was rocked by earth-shaking blasts from exploding makeshift factories that produce firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.[1][2] Another incident in 2004 killed eight people and affected close to 1000 homes when a buyer tested a firework called higad ("caterpillar" in English).[3]

The explosions in 1988, 2004 and 2007 are among the many powerful blasts plaguing the pyrotechnics industry in the Philippines. Notwithstanding, children are used in the manufacture and sale of these devices. The annual firework-related injury surveillance data collected by the Philippines Department of Health (DOH) between 2010 and 2014 found that among the injured from fireworks 80% were found to be male and 47% were found to be children aged 5 to 14 years old.[4]

The Philippine government has put several restrictions regarding fireworks use and several fireworks are banned completely. However, these restrictions are usually ignored.

The sore point of these restrictions is the Republic Act 7183 which regulates the manufacturing, distribution, sale and use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices. The only allowed firecrackers and pyrotechnics are enlisted in the law including the maximum amount of gunpowder that can be used in an individual firecracker.[5]

Map of the Municipality of Bocaue in Bulacan province where the fire occurred.

The fire occurred in Barangay Turo, Bocaue, Bulacan at the site where the stores sell fireworks, and the stores are beside one another. Next to them is a Meralco electric substation, and a few meters away is the Bocaue Exit of North Luzon Expressway with a gas station nearby.

The Bureau of Fire Protection believes that somebody lit a cigarette and accidentally threw it into a stack of fireworks at the back of a store. The Philippine National Police believes that it was caused by a chemical reaction. The fireworks testing theory has also been a probable cause but has been since put down.

As of 2 January 2008, the cigarette theory is accepted as the cause of the fire.

A still capture from the December 31, 2007 edition of GMA Network's 24 Oras that shows people run to safety when the fireworks exploded in the streets.

Even before the fire, people noticed the problems regarding the placement of the fireworks stores. They noticed that there are no gaps between the stores and some even warned the vendors about the dangers in the event of a fire.

Coincidentally, a day before the fire, on December 30th, the same area suffered a power blackout when a power post fuse exploded that morning. This left several stores and houses without power.

On December 31, 2007, the firemen on duty in the area were transferred, leaving everything susceptible to a major fire.

The incident occurred a day before the New Year. Every year this portion of the town becomes a marketplace for fireworks and people from all over flock to this place. The trading was at peak hour when the fire occurred, and many people were present.

At 10:00 AM, the fire began when a Judas Belt, was ignited when a cigarette was thrown away according to the authorities. It exploded and its sparks reaches a stack of fireworks from another store. Store owners attempted to put out the fire but an explosion rippled the stores entirely. In a few minutes, in what appeared to be a small firework explosion turned into a large, uncontrollable fire.

During the fire, motorists plying the North Luzon Expressway saw the smoke from the fire and even slowed down to see it.

The people ran for safety to a nearby vacant lot, just behind a terminal of passenger vans servicing the route of Bocaue, Bulacan to SM City Pampanga in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, causing a stampede. The explosion reached the street and broke some of the windows of nearby houses and establishments. Establishments across the road managed to quickly cover their glass windows and doors, thus preventing them from being shattered.

In a matter of minutes the firemen arrived at the scene and before 11:00 AM the fire was put out.

The fire injured 7 people including two crewmen of GMA Network and there were four people missing, but soon recovered. All of the stores have burned and the remaining fireworks were disposed.

A total of three vehicles burned during the fire.

Several people are dismayed by what happened. They believe that lack of strict enforcement of local laws made this incident possible. They also believe that somebody should be liable for what happened since the fires and series of explosions shattered the glass windows around the area, causing injuries. Atty. Carlo Santiago, one of the witnesses,[6] will file a case against the store owners.

The fire department was criticized, due to an absence of firemen at the time of the fire. Although swift, the firemen still arrived too late with nothing left on the stores.

After the incident, the other store owners who closed their stores reopened. After several hours, the situation was back to normal. The prices of the fireworks also dropped significantly as the New Year approached although it is not attributed to the incident. The store owners also tried retrieve their properties and the authorities found out several flaws on the side of the store owners.

On 2 January 2008, the Bureau of Fire Protection was considering the revoke of permits to Bocaue store owners and the investigators have drawn up a list of possible "suspects" but refused to name them while the investigation is pending.[7]

According to investigators, the store owner where the fire started will not be sued since everything happened accidentally.[8] Also, the investigation of the accident is stalled due to absence of witnesses.[9]

Senator Aquilino Pimentel also proposed a total ban of fireworks. His proposal received heavy backfire especially from the local government of the province of Bulacan and from the legal fireworks factories and vendors.

The same area suffered the similar incident again on the 13 November 2009, less than two years after the 2007 incident. The incident was recorded by residents near the area and several videos have been uploaded to YouTube.[10][11][12]

The fire is featured on an episode of Discovery Channel program Destroyed in Seconds.

• GMA Video of the Bocaue Fire
• ABS-CBN article about the Bocaue Fire