Fire in Pasay still ongoing, loading and unloading at Baclaran station still not operational

Miami
August 12, 2008
Story: Fire in Pasay still ongoing, loading and unloading at Baclaran station still not operational

The fire in Megaplex building along Taft Avenue extension, Pasay City had not yet been under control or still under task Force Foxtrot because of this the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Operation in Baclaran station has not yet been normalized.

The LRT stopped its operation for Baclaran to EDSA stations and vice-versa since August 11, Monday because of the said fire.

According to Felix Leyson, head of LRT operations they have to stop the operation in Baclaran because of the thick smoke that coming in to the station and to avoid suffocation for the passengers. The rest of the stations, EDSA to Monumento and vice-versa are normal.

In August 11, Leyson said that their estimated affected passengers were on around 30,000 then on August 12, were about 27,800.

Their revenue lost for August 11 were about Php415,000 and for August 12 were Php398,000—these only because they cannot accommodate passengers in Baclaran station.

Leyson said that they will have some negotiations with the Department of Interior and local Government (DILG), Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP) and Local Government Unit (LGU) to check on the structures or buildings near the LRT stations if the buildings are fire hazard or not.

“We would want to request for strict compliance and monitoring of the building to prevent more damages in the future,” Leyson said.

This is the fourth time, for this year alone, that the LRT has been disrupted because of the fire incident near their stations. But, this is the first time that in two consecutive days the LRT cannot operate on all stations.