- Ozone Disco Club fire
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Ozone Disco Club fire Date March 18, 1996 Time around 00:00:00 Philippine Standard Time Location Quezon City, Philippines Casualties 162 dead 95 injured Worst fire in Philippine history A fire at the Ozone Disco Club in Quezon City, Philippines broke out shortly after midnight, Philippine Standard Time, March 18, 1996 (04:00:00 PM, March 17, 1996, GMT) leaving at least 162 people dead. It was officially acknowledged as the worst fire in Philippine history,[1][2] and the world's worst nightclub fire since the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky.[1]
Contents
About the Ozone Disco Club
Ozone Disco, located along Timog Avenue corner Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City, was opened in 1991 by Segio Orgaoow.[3][4] Its building had previously housed a jazz club named "Birdland".[3] The disco was operated by Westwood Entertainment Company, Inc.[4][5]
Event
The fire broke out on March 18, 1996. At the time of the fire, it was estimated that there were around 350 patrons and 40 club employees inside Ozone Disco, though it had been approved for occupancy for only 35 persons.[1][5] Most of the club guests were high school and college students attending graduation or end-of-the-school-year celebrations.[6] Survivors reported seeing sparks flying inside the disc jockey's booth shortly after midnight, followed by smoke which they thought was part of the party plan of the DJ.[1][1]
Many of the bodies were discovered along the corridor leading to the only exit, piled up waist-high.[1] Quezon City officials were quoted as saying that the club's emergency exit had been blocked by a new building next door,[1] and that there was no proper fire exit.[6] It was also reported that the exit had been locked from the outside by the club's guards, who had thought that a riot had taken place.[5]
The never restored for commercial use Ozone Disco building in Timog Avenue, Quezon City in 2008. The structure still stands today
Casualties
The final death count was reported as between 160[7] and 162 people, the latter being the figure cited by the trial court that heard the ensuing criminal case.[5] The death toll was one of the worst ever for a nightclub fire,[6] though it was subsequently surpassed by the República Cromagnon nightclub fire. In addition, at least 95 people were injured.[5]
Investigation and aftermath
Six people involved with Westwood Entertainment were tried before the courts for criminal charges of "reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and multiple serious injuries".[5][7] On March 16, 2001, the president of Westwood Entertainment, Hermilo Ocampo, and the corporation's treasurer, Ramon Ng, were found guilty by a Quezon City trial court and sentenced to a four-year prison term, and fined 25 million pesos each.[5][7] They and their co-accused (who were acquitted) were also ordered to indemnify the families of the deceased 150,000 pesos, and 100,000 pesos to the injured. The trial court concluded that Ocampo and Ng failed to provide fire exits and sprinklers inside the establishment, that the fire extinguishers they placed were defective, and that the lone exit was through a small door that swung inward and did not meet the standard set by the building code.[5]
In November 2001, twelve officials of the Quezon City government were charged before the Sandiganbayan for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides and multiple serious injuries. They were accused of allowing Ozone Disco to secure a certificate of annual inspection in 1995 "despite the inadequacy, insufficiency and impropriety of the documents submitted by the owners."[7] In 2007, one of the twelve — the former city engineer and building official of Quezon City, Alfredo Macapugay — was discharged from criminal and civil liability after the Sandiganbayan concluded that he had no hand in the issuance of the necessary permits to Ozone Disco management.[8]
As of 2008, the structure which housed the Ozone Disco remained standing in Timog Avenue, Quezon City, though the site has not been commercially used since then.[9] For a few years after the incident there was a makeshift memorial on the site featuring photographs of the victims. This has since been dismantled, and no marker or official memorial commemorates the incident or its victims.
In media
The October 2, 2008 episode of the GMA Network public affairs show Case Unclosed featured the Ozone Disco fire and its aftermath. The episode was directed by Adolfo Alix, Jr..[10][11][12][13] 2 days before the showing of this episode, September 30, 2008, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. released an ordinance that warns the owners of entertainment establishments to use swing-in/swing-out doors.[13]
The incident was featured in fantasy-horror TV show (also in GMA Network) named "Lihim ng Gabi" in December 1996.
See also
- Luoyang Christmas fire 25 December 2000; Luoyang, People's Republic of China; 309 dead
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Associated Press (1996-03-20). "Disco in Manila, for 35 People, Held 400". New York Times Online (New York Times). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E2DA1739F933A15750C0A960958260. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ Esteban, P/Supt. Romulo; Col. Danilo Fabian (June 3–4, 2004). "THE PHILIPPINE DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM". Philippine Center on Transnational Crime. http://www.pctc.gov.ph/updates/tpdms.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b Ducky Paredes (1996-03-22). "The Fire in the Ozone" (DOC). Ducky Paredes:Columns from Malaya and Abante. Malaya. http://www.duckyparedes.com/archives/Malaya_Archive/1996/1996.03.22.Malaya.doc. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b Philippine Court of Appeals (2005-10-25). "Chua v. Pua, CA-G.R. CV No. 80583" (PDF). Supreme Court of the Philippines. http://ca.supremecourt.gov.ph/cardis/CV80583.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Vanzi, Sol Jose (2001-03-12). "LIGHT SENTENCES FOR OZONE DISCO OWNERS". Newsflash (Philippine Headline News Online). http://www.newsflash.org/2001/03/hl/hl013279.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b c Associated Press (1996-03-19). "At Least 150 Are Killed in Disco Fire in Manila". New York Times Online (New York Times). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E2DC1739F93AA25750C0A960958260. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b c d "What went before". Inquirer.net (Philippine Daily Inquirer). 2007-08-23. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view_article.php?article_id=84162. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ Uy, Jocelyn (2007-08-22). "Ex-city engineer cleared in Ozone case". Inquirer.net (Philippine Daily Inquirer). http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view_article.php?article_id=84122. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ Johanna Sampan (2008-03-18). "Ozone Disco tragedy remembered". Manila Times. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20080402010048/http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/18/yehey/metro/20080318met8.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ YouTube - Case Unclosed: Alaala ng Ozone (Part 1 of 4)
- ^ YouTube - Case Unclosed: Alaala ng Ozone (Part 2 of 4)
- ^ YouTube - Case Unclosed: Alaala ng Ozone (Part 3 of 4)
- ^ a b YouTube - Case Unclosed: Alaala ng Ozone (Part 4 of 4)
Mass casualty club fires Pre 1940 Study Club fire1940–1969 1970–1979 Club Cinq-Sept fire · Blue Bird Café fire · Whiskey Au Go Go fire · UpStairs Lounge arson attack · Summerland disaster · Beverly Hills Supper Club fire1980–1999 Stardust fire · Alcalá 20 nightclub fire · Happy Land fire · Kheyvis · Ozone Disco Club fire · Gothenburg discothèque fire2000–2004 2005–2009 Coordinates: 14°38′06″N 121°02′09″E / 14.634865°N 121.035867°E
Categories:- 1996 fires
- Disasters in the Philippines
- Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes
- Nightclub fires
- Paranormal places in the Philippines
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