Ozone disco Fire Incident

MANILA, Philippines What was supposed to be a fun night for most students
and some professionals who went to Ozone Disco in Quezon City 19 years ago,
turned out to be the greatest tragedy of their lives.
It was on a Monday night of March 18, 1996, when most students were
celebrating the end of their classes, that Ozone Disco Club offered a 50%
discount promo for guests.
What were the factors?
The tragedy is the worst club fire in the Philippines and seventh in the world,
according to the National Fire Protection Association.
According to Col. Sammy Tadeo, one of the first investigators of the incident, the
following were among the factors that led to the death of 162 people.

MEMORIES. Some of the survivors gather in front of the former Ozone Disco Club for the 19th
anniversary of the tragedy on March 18, 2015. Photo by Gwen de la Cruz/Rappler

Swing-in door
For safety purposes, the law requires establishments to have doors that can be
opened both inward and outward. The disco room however, only had one door
that could be opened inward.
When people realized that there was a fire, they all headed towards the door as
they pushed their way out, making it impossible for them to open it.
There were also two more doors they had to pass through before they could get
out of the builidng.

 Lack of fire exit

The disco club had no fire exit. The door which was supposed to serve as the fire
exit was blocked by the establishment beside it.
Overcapacity
Since March is when schools usually end, the club announced a discount promo.
According to Tadeo, more than 300 people, mostly teenagers, were in the disco
when it could hold only around 100 people.

The Fire

The Ozone Disco floor plan. Taken from the March 20, 1996 issue of the Manila Standard.

The fire was reported to have started at around 12:30 AM of 18 March 1996, at the disk jockey's booth.
Survivors recounted that electrical sparks and a series of firecracker-like explosions came from the booth
before electricity was cut short and the whole disco was plunged into darkness. At the same time, smoke filled
the whole establishment, which at that time had around 400 people inside, mostly students from various
schools celebrating their graduation and the end of classes.
The fire quickly spread throughout the disco, aided by the flammable materials used in the interiors of the
building such as the decorative egg cartons used in the ceiling and the acoustic foam insulation. Light fixtures
fell from the ceiling as they were consumed by the fire. Moments later, the mezzanine fell, crushing some of the
revelers trapped in the innermost part of the disco.
Panicking and unable to find a fire exit, many rushed to the narrow corridor leading to the front exit. However,
the front doors measured less than two meters wide and swung inwards; the crowd pushed at the doors,
closing them instead of pulling them open. The situation was compounded by security guards locking the door
from outside, thinking that a riot had broken out inside.
By the time firefighters were able to open the doors and put out the flames, many had died; in the ensuing
stampede to the exit, partygoers were suffocated, trampled, or burned to death. Firefighters discovered
numerous bodies, piled-waist high along the narrow corridor behind the doors, charred beyond recognition.
This forced victims' families to identify the bodies through the personal effects of the victims, such as jewelry.
Some bodies were never even identified, and were buried in mass graves.
The fire lasted for four hours, claimed around 160 lives, and left 310 persons injured. It also caused around Php
15 million worth of damage to property.

Investigation and Criminal Charges

Where the Ozone Disco used to stand. The site has never been refurbished for commercial use after the fire.

An investigation of the incident was immediately ordered by President Fidel V. Ramos. It was discovered that
the disco had numerous violations of the National Building Code such as the lack of fire exits, emergency lights
and alarm systems; the narrow door which swung inwards; and overcrowdingthe disco only had an official
capacity of 35 people. The disco's permit to operate was also found to be dubious, as well as other permits
issued by the Quezon City government.
A few days after the tragedy, criminal charges were filed against the owners and operators of the establishment
under Westwood Entertainment, namely Hermilo Ocampo, president; his wife Raquel; Rosita Ku; her son
Sonny Ku; Ramon Ng, treasurer; and Alfredo Chua.
Charges against Raquel Ocampo, Sonny and Rosita Ku, and Alfredo Chua were later dismissed. Hermilo
Ocampo and Ramon Ng were found guilty of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and multiple
injuries; despite being sentenced to four years in prison, the two have posted bail and did not serve any time
behind bars. All six have been also ordered to pay Php 25 million in damages to the families of the victims of
the tragedy, but with Westwood Entertainment having filed for bankruptcy, only a portion of the amount was
actually paid out.
Ocampo has allegedly returned to running a lights-and-sounds rental business and was rumored to be one of
the owners of the Basement Bar in Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City.
Relatives of the victims, led by the Justice for Ozone Victims Foundation, Inc. (JOVFI) headed by Joseph
Stephen Santos, have complained not just of the slow pace of justice but also of being shortchanged because
of the light sentences meted out by the court.
Charges were also filed against 12 officials of the Quezon City government, including then City Engineer
Alfredo Macapugay and Assistant City Engineer Benjamin Malinao. As of 2008, the case was still pending in

court. Macapugay, however, was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Sandiganbayan in November 2001; the
court ruling states that since Malinao was the one who approved the permits and clearances, Macapugay
cannot be held liable.
Up to the present, the site where the Ozone Disco was located has never been refurbished for commercial use.
On 20 November 2014, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division found seven former official of the Quezon
City engineer's office and two private individuals guilty of graft in connection with the Ozone Disco Tragedy.
They were sentenced to six to 10 years in jail.
Convicted of graft and corrupt practices were:

City Engineer Alfredo Macapugay

Former City Engineer Renato Rivera Jr.

Building Inspector Edgardo Reyes

Chief, Enforcement and Inspection Division, Francisco Itliong

Chief, Processing Division, Feliciano Sagana

Engineer Petronillo De Llamas

Building Inspector Rolando Mamaid

Hermilo Ocampo and Ramon Ng, members of the board of directors and stockholders of Westwood
Entertainment Co. Inc., which managed the Ozone Disco.

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta. The court said that the
officials were negligent in approving the building permit of the disco bar. They still issued two building permits
and a certificate of occupancy to the disco despite having faults in the design and defects in the electrical and
safety systems.
Since the incident, the Quezon City government had imposed stricter rules in issuing building permits. Issuing
the permits, which used to be the task of the Office of the City Engineer, is now the task of the Office of the
Building Official. City officials regulary inspect buildings to make sure rules and regulations are being followed.