The Manor Hotel fire was a fire occurred at the Manor Hotel in
Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
,
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
on August 18, 2001. With a death toll of 74, it is considered to be the second worst structural fire in Philippine history, tied with the 2015
Kentex slipper factory fire
On May 13, 2015, a fire broke out at the Kentex Manufacturing factory in Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines. Seventy-four people were killed in the fire, making the incident the joint-second worst fire disaster in Philippine history alongsi ...
and only behind the
Ozone Disco fire
The Ozone Disco fire in Quezon City, Philippines, broke out at 11:35 pm Philippine Standard Time on March 18, 1996, leaving at least 162 people dead. It is officially acknowledged as the worst fire in Philippine history, and among the 10 wo ...
in 1996.
Building
The Manor Hotel occupied a six-storey concrete building
along Kamias Road in
Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
,
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
.
[ According to local authorities it was built around the late 1970s and could have been previously affected by an earlier fire. At the time of the fire, the building had no windows at the rear and its windows are blocked by white iron bars, which is a common anti-burglary feature. Its fire exits were also obstructed.][ The first two floors from the ground are used as office spaces.]
Fire
The Manor Hotel fire occurred on August 18, 2001, at around 4:00 am (Philippine Standard Time
Philippine Standard Time (PST or PhST; fil, Pamantayang Oras ng Pilipinas), also known as Philippine Time (PHT), is the official name for the time zone used in the Philippines. The country only uses one time zone, at an offset of UTC+08:00, b ...
). A security guard at an adjacent building fired three warning shots after he saw smoke coming out of an exhaust fan from the Manor Hotel at 3:50 am after which he heard an explosion.[ At that time, there were 236 registered guests. 172 of them were taking part in the three-day Destiny Conference Crusade by the Don Clowers Ministries, an American evangelical group based in ]Irving, Texas
Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...
.
The third and fourth floors were the only part of the Manor Hotel building directly affected by fire but smoke reached the upper floors, which led to fatalities. According to Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
Fernando Feliciano "Sonny" Racimo Belmonte Jr., Knights of Rizal, KGCR (born October 2, 1936) is a Filipino people, Filipino politician who served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives for the Fourth District of Quezon City from ...
, the fire may have started in a restaurant and karaoke bar on the third floor. Initial reports also suggest it may have started from the overheating of an air-conditioning unit.[ An alternate theory suggested that there was a ]short circuit
A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...
in the ceiling of a third floor stockroom.
Firefighters attempted to save trapped occupants by sawing the iron bars in the hotel room's windows.[ Many of the guests huddled in their bathrooms. Two managed to jumped off from the building and survived.]
The fire was put out at around 6:30 am.[
]
Victims
74 died in the incident; 62 of which died on site. At least one body was found to be charred but investigators concluded most victims died due to asphyxiation
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
or smoke inhalation. None of the American attendees to the Don Clowers conference were among the casualties, and all victims were Filipino nationals.[ The injured were rushed to different hospitals namely the ]East Avenue Medical Center
The East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) is a government-owned tertiary general hospital located in Central, Quezon City, Philippines.
History
The EAMC was established as the GSIS General Hospital under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS ...
, the Quirino Memorial and Medical Center, the Lung Center of the Philippines
The Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) ( fil, Ospital ng Pilipinas sa may sakit sa Baga) is a government tertiary hospital specializing in the cure and prevention of lung and other chest diseases, located on Central, Quezon City, Philippines. ...
, the Quezon City Medical Center, the Quezon City General Hospital, and the Victoriano Luna General Hospital.
Aftermath
The Manor Hotel fire is the deadliest hotel fire in Philippine history, and the country's second-worst fire of any kind after the Ozone Disco fire
The Ozone Disco fire in Quezon City, Philippines, broke out at 11:35 pm Philippine Standard Time on March 18, 1996, leaving at least 162 people dead. It is officially acknowledged as the worst fire in Philippine history, and among the 10 wo ...
of 1996 which killed around 160 people. The Christian conference attended by 8,000 people at the Araneta Coliseum
The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the Big Dom ...
on August 18 dedicated their service to the victims and families of the fire. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
ordered an investigation of the fire and also personally visited the survivors of the fire.
Quezon City fire marshal
A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a state, provincial or territorial government, but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually in ...
Ricardo Lemence was removed from his position by Interior Secretary
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
Joey Lina
Jose David Lina Jr., KGCR (born December 22, 1951), better known as Joey Lina, is a Filipino lawyer, businessman, public servant, radio personality, and politician who is the former governor of Laguna and former Senator of the Philippines.
Po ...
shortly after the fire. Charges were filed against multiple Manor Hotel and Quezon City government officials.[
]
2019 convictions
Four Quezon City government officials and five Manor Hotel officers were convicted of charges in relation to the 2001 fire on March 29, 2019, by the Sandiganbayan
The Sandiganbayan ( en, Support of the Nation) is a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public officer ...
's Seventh Division. The decision was upheld on September 3, 2019. The following were charged:
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manor Hotel fire
2001 in the Philippines
2001 fires in Asia
Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes
Fires in the Philippines
2001 disasters in the Philippines
History of Metro Manila
Man-made disasters in the Philippines
August 2001 events in Asia
Hotel fires
Urban fires in Asia