Loud explosion rocks Serendra

[tagalnasaabroad]

TAKEN from Jaime Garchitorena's FB page:



So in the end, the unit owners are left with an expensive "solution" for their cooking requirements.

Personally I doubt if the unit owners and residents will settle for this solution. I would think they would file protests to let them use LPG stoves. LPG tanks use odorized-LPG which would have avoided the explosion since the smell would have been detectable even in very small amounts.

It appears any reference to 'GAS' sends shivers and panic to Ayala management..i can understand how it wrecked havocs and miseries, damaged reputation and messy litigations as a result of poorly executed Gas Reticulation O&M foul up..tama na, subra na..we've learned our lessons..
They'd better be serious..ALI stocks starting to pick up again..

[ghosthunter]

Serendra revisited: Facts, more questions
by Natashya Gutierrez
Posted on 06/27/2013 8:45 PM | Updated 06/29/2013 11:09 AM

POWERFUL EXPLOSION. Police confirm an explosion at Serendra, a posh enclave in Taguig at around 8pm on Friday, May 31. Photo by Robin LeonardPOWERFUL EXPLOSION. Police confirm an explosion at Serendra, a posh enclave in Taguig at around 8pm on Friday, May 31. Photo by Robin Leonard

MANILA, Philippines - It's been almost a month since the explosion at Unit 501B in Two Serendra, a posh enclave in Taguig City.

A week after the May 31 blast that killed 3 and injured 4, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas held a press conference to announce findings that the explosion was caused by a gas leak, and not a bomb.

Three weeks since the announcement however, and as public interest slowly wanes — and with it, liability — the source of the leak still remains a mystery. No official updates since the June 7 press conference have likewise been made.

But facts from the investigation could explain how the explosion happened, or who should be held responsible. Rappler lists them and corresponding questions below.

Fact 1: Residents did not smell anything unusual

Commercialized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) contains an odorant. The most commonly used chemical additive, mercaptan, is added to LPG to provide a distinctive smell so that in the event of a gas leak, residents are alerted by the foul odor.

Without mercaptan or an odorant, it is virtually impossible to detect gas leaks by smell. The Serendra investigation found that Angelito San Juan, the man renting Unit 501B, did not report any unusual smell when he talked to his friend, Herminia Ochoa, before the explosion, although he did mention feeling suffocated, a symptom of a gas leak.

When Ochoa visited the apartment to see San Juan, she reportedly did not smell any gas from the doorway, and neither did the two guards with her, according to Roxas. Residents from the same building whom Rappler talked to also did not report any unusual odor.

But Roberto Kanapi, Pilipinas Shell vice president for communication, said Shell injects more than the required "chemical additive called ethyl mercaptan in [the gas] we supply." Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp is the gas supplier of Bonifacio Gas Corp (BGC), the exclusive provider of centralized piped-in gas in Bonifacio Global City.

Questions

Was the gas supplied to Serendra odorless? Is mercaptan really injected to BGC's gas supply? If Kanapi is to be believed, and the residents did not smell gas, does this mean the mercaptan, by the time it had reached Serendra, had diminished?
Rappler research shows that mercaptan odorant may fade in rare circumstances. These include times when it sticks to the inside surface of metal storage containers, or is absorbed by the following: the vapor space of used containers, soil, the inside wall of gas pipings, rough wall surfaces, furniture, and fabrics. Could this be what happened, and if so, were the containers or gas pipes used by BGC the culprit?

Fact 2: Burn marks in other units

Roxas said units 506 and 306 had evidence of burn marks, and even a used fire extinguisher. Unit 506 is across the hall and two units away from 501, while unit 306 is one floor below 501.

The same gas pipe provides gas to units 506 and 306. Burn marks and evidence of fire in both units indicate gas continued to flow in those apartments causing the burning, and that the pipe supplying both units was busted.

Question

Did the pipe break before or after the blast? If the pipe was already broken before the blast, it may be the source of the leak. Gas could have leaked there, but spread down the hall and into 501, hence the explosion. Or did it break from the impact of the blast?

Fact 3: Damage to other units

In a statement released by Ayala Land Inc on the day of the blast, it said 10 units on the 5th floor were damaged by the blast. Ayala spokesperson George Marco said, two apartment units were completely blown out. Others suffered shattered windows, broken doors, and at least one unit on the floor had evidence of burns.

An expert Rappler talked to said it is likely that if the explosion happened inside 501 with the door closed, the extent of damage in the other units would not have been as massive. San Juan's burns mostly on his back, and his reported plans to leave his apartment just minutes before the blast suggest he was on his way out and his door was open.

Question

What does the widespread damage on the 5th floor mean? Could it mean there was gas along the corridor, which was also ignited, hence the damage? If so, where did the gas along the corridor come from?

Fact 4: Unit 501 was the source of ignition

The explosion on Unit 501 means it was the source of the ignition. But this does not mean it was also the source of the leak. Gas may have simply entered the unit from the leak's origin. It is unknown what ignition caused the blast, but in the press conference, geoscientist CP David said it could have come from a mere light switch.

San Juan's counsel, Raymund Fortun, told Rappler his client did not cook while he was at the apartment, as there are no utensils in the unit.

Questions

With San Juan still intubated owing to injuries from the blast and without his testimony, investigators have yet to determine the source of the ignition. Was it a light switch? A match? From the information at hand, however, Roxas said investigators have concluded San Juan's behavior was "normal."
And if the leak did not come from Unit 501, then how did the gas enter the apartment? If the unit's gas was unused, as Fortun says, could the gas have then seeped through the door and not through the pipes?

Fact 5: No alarm went off

No gas detector sounded before the explosion, despite there having been gas present. Residents Rappler talked to said their gas detectors are extremely sensitive that, they are set off even by detergent or insect repellant. They said the sound is so loud it can be heard from outside the unit. But not a single alarm was reported to have gone off on the 5th floor.

Questions

Were the gas detectors on the 5th floor not working? Or were none of them plugged, which is the residents' responsibility? If the gas detectors were not working, why not?
A One Serendra resident told Rappler a Serendra inspection of her gas detector showed it was defective, as it did not detect gas sprayed onto it. How many gas detectors in Serendra are defective and why were they not monitored? - Rappler.com

source: Serendra revisited: Facts, more questions

[stickers]

Serendra blast: Unit 501 occupant dies

MANILA, Philippines - He came here to attend a wedding and rented Unit 501 of Two Serendra, owned by a friend. Five weeks after the blast that damaged the unit, Angelito San Juan died Thursday at 12:20 am in St. Luke's, Taguig.

San Juan was 63, married with two children.

Based in the United States, he was one of the 4 injured in the May 31 blast at Serendra that killed 3 other men, all outsourced employees of Abenson.

It's been days of blood transfusion and intensive care for San Juan, according to his lawyer Raymund Fortun. While the specific cause of his death was not immediately known, it "may be due to multiple complications."

Fortun said ALI has been paying for the hospital expenses but has not once reached out to San Juan or the family to check on his condition.

"Ayala has never gotten in touch with us from Day 1. When he was rushed to the hospital, we learned more or less Ayala would pay the bill because they were never sent to us," he said.

Unlike in the case of the families of the 3 other victims, Fortun said no Ayala representatives have visited San Juan in the hospital nor talked to his family.

[Monseratto]

RIP. I wonder if he was able to past anything to the investigators before he died, or if he never regained conciousness...

[_Cathy_]

This is so tragic.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[shadow]

RIP. I wonder if he was able to past anything to the investigators before he died, or if he never regained conciousness...

he wanst able to give any statement, he was sedated since his confinement...

[Monseratto]

Atty. Fortun revealed during a radio interview that the victim was still able to call the unit owner after the explosion. The victim told her that before the explsion, he rubbed his hands on wool before touching the door knob then boom. He was still able to struggle down the stairs and reach the ground floor despite his extensive injuries.

[stickers]

Why not charge Ayala for tenant's death?

MANILA, Philippines – “Pag-isipan din nilang magsampa ng kaso laban sa Ayala.” (They should consider filing charges against Ayala.)

Myla Umali, wife of one of the Serendra blast victims, shared these thoughts upon learning about the death of Angelito San Juan, the tenant of Unit 501 Two Serendra, early Thursday, July 4.

San Juan, 63, was one of the 4 injured in the May 31 blast at Serendra in Taguig City that killed Umali’s husband Jeffrey Umali and 2 other outsourced employees of Abenson.

Umali said San Juan’s family should not readily accept any compensation that developer Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) might offer them.

“Siyempre pareho lang ang pagkamatay noong tenant sa buhay ng asawa ko. Natural dapat mag-isip rin sila na magsampa ng kaso,” Umali said. (The tenant’s death is similar to my husband’s. Naturally, they should also think of filing charges.)

Umali has remained firm in her decision not to settle with Ayala despite the company's offer of P1 million and educational plans for her two children, 4-year-old JM and Ella, who’s only 9 months old. The families of the two who died in the blast have accepted Ayala's offer.

“Tingin ba nila P1 million na check? Ang bilis kaya maubos ang isang milyon, di ba? Isang milyon lang ba ang buhay ng asawa ko?,” Umali added. (P1 million can be easily spent. Do they think my husband's life is worth only P1 million?)

Umali disclosed that she has yet to meet with ALI regarding their settlement offer. She said she would meet with the company's representatives after she commemorates her husband’s 40th-day death anniversary in Nueva Ecija next week.

Umali earlier said she already received a “financial help” of P50,000 from ALI during her husband’s wake. But she said this payment should not stop her from filing charges against ALI because she did not sign “any waiver to file legal actions.”

When we asked ALI to comment on Umali's statement last Sunday, June 30, ALI said: "We continue to be very much open to help Mrs. Umali and her [children] in light of their tragic loss. We sincerely and deeply sympathize and condole with them and hope to be able to help them move on."

May prinsipyo o nagpapataas ng presyo?

[dreamur]

Atty. Fortun revealed during a radio interview that the victim was still able to call the unit owner after the explosion. The victim told her that before the explsion, he rubbed his hands on wool before touching the door knob then boom. He was still able to struggle down the stairs and reach the ground floor despite his extensive injuries.

Could have stored static electricity by rubbing his hands on wool (similar to dragging your feet on carpet) and discharged electricity upon touching the door knob. Good thing our PMO requires all tenants to use elctric stove, not lpg. Power cost is expensive though.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Balikpinoy]

Why not charge Ayala for tenant's death?



May prinsipyo o nagpapataas ng presyo?

Good for her!