The fire inside the First Industrial Park in Tanauan City, Batangas has been extinguished. An estimated 100 Chinese brand cars were damaged after their storage was engulfed when the fire broke out at a nearby larva factory.
According to F/Sr. Supt. Dennis Molo, Batangas Provincial Fire Marshal, the fire may have started from spent bleaching earth (SBE) chemicals in the factory's stockyard. SBE is a flammable and hazardous chemical that is a by-product of oil used in the refining process.
The fire quickly spread from the stockyard to an open space where new vehicles, including Chinese brand cars, were parked. According to Governor Hermilando Mandanas, more than 1,000 vehicles were parked in the area, and 100 of them were burned.
There were scrap drums with residual chemicals that caused the fire to spread quickly. However, a warehouse was protected due to their fire system, so its interior was not significantly affected.
No injuries were reported in the incident, although the fire reached third alarm. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.
