Remembering the Ozone Club Tragedy
A Tragic Celebration
1. The Ozone Club
Ozone Club was located near the memorial rotunda on Timog Ave. corner Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Opened in 1991 by Segio Orgaoow, it occupied the building which also housed the former club known as Birdland. The 50-meter establishment, with an approved capacity of 35 people, had been operated by Westwood Entertainment Company, Inc. headed by Hermilo Ocampo.
“Isa sa pinakasikat na gimikan ng aming panahon” is how Jayson Quitiquit, a blogger, would describe the club which was often recommended to him by his schoolmates before. The club also had a wide variety of food and drinks offered in affordable prices so people, especially the youngsters, were really fond of going there.
2. The Tragic Celebration
March 18, 1996-- In the evening, the room was jam-packed with party-goers—mostly teenagers who were celebrating their graduation. The atmosphere was full of delight and energy as people danced their hearts out to the lively beat of the music. Time went by so fast and everybody was having a good time when there was a sudden scattering of smoke from the disc jockey’s booth. The smoke spread all over the room. Everyone was amazed of what seemed like part of the DJ’s spectacle show-off. At about 12:30am, there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere when someone screamed: “Fire!”
Everyone burst into turmoil. The fire covered the room swiftly and easily because of the acoustic foam installation and the decorations that surrounded the room. “It was like hell”, the DJ, Marvin Reyes, said in an interview. Everybody was heading to the small door causing a stampede. It was the only way out. Everyone was desperate to go out and save their own lives. But unluckily, many weren’t able to escape from the inferno of death.
3. After the Fire
The fire lasted for about four hours. Firefighters responded fast but stopping the fire wasn’t easy. They ran out of water and because the establishment lacked a fire hydrant, the firefighters still needed to go to the nearest place, where there was a fire hydrant, to refill.
The club surely did not pass the city building standards and it did not have adequate materials in cases of emergencies like this. It was known that the fire extinguishers provided by the management of the club were defective. Otherwise, the staff would have taken initial measures to kill the fire. Also, the fire exit was blocked by the new neighboring building so the victims didn’t have the choice but to exit through the door which was small and was only opened unidirectional.
The club surely did not pass the city building standards and it did not have adequate materials in cases of emergencies like this. It was known that the fire extinguishers provided by the management of the club were defective. Otherwise, the staff would have taken initial measures to kill the fire. Also, the fire exit was blocked by the new neighboring building so the victims didn’t have the choice but to exit through the door which was small and was only opened unidirectional.
The result of the irresponsibility of the club’s management was the death of at least 150 people that were seen near the door--piled up and deformed. At least 95 people were also injured. It was estimated that the total number of people in the club was 350. Recall that the approved occupancy was only 35.
The family of the victims, upon hearing the news, hurriedly went to the place of incident. Because the bodies were greatly distorted, some weren’t identifiable anymore. Some parents were seen weeping with only the shoes of their children on their hands. It was a big loss especially that most of the victims were graduating students. Their dreams which were almost right on their hands just suddenly vanished with the ashes.
The family of the victims, upon hearing the news, hurriedly went to the place of incident. Because the bodies were greatly distorted, some weren’t identifiable anymore. Some parents were seen weeping with only the shoes of their children on their hands. It was a big loss especially that most of the victims were graduating students. Their dreams which were almost right on their hands just suddenly vanished with the ashes.
4. The Unsolved Justice
There was no official statement released about the cause of the fire. But aside from the faulty electrical wiring in the DJ’s booth, there were also reports about the explosion of the fuel tank in the kitchen. Some reports also said that the guards locked the door from the outside thinking that there was a riot going on in the club and that the victims, panicked by the situation, tried to open the door in the wrong direction. This report resulted to the command of the government to use wing doors in establishments which is still being implemented nowadays.
Many people died and so as were injured. Many dreams that were almost coming true had also been forgotten with the ashes. So who should be blamed?
Six people from the Westwood Company were charged by the court with “reckless imprudence resulting to homicide and numerous physical injuries”. Hermilo Ocampo (president of the company) and Ramon Ng (treasurer) were both sentenced to four years of imprisonment and were both obligated to pay an amount of twenty five million pesos. Aside from that, the company was also penalized to pay 150,000php to the families of the deceased and 100,000php to the families of the injured.
Although, a few people already paid for the crime, do you think it was enough in order to give justice to the death of at least a hundred and fifty people? There might be some other people who were responsible for the tragedy but who knows.
Many people died and so as were injured. Many dreams that were almost coming true had also been forgotten with the ashes. So who should be blamed?
Six people from the Westwood Company were charged by the court with “reckless imprudence resulting to homicide and numerous physical injuries”. Hermilo Ocampo (president of the company) and Ramon Ng (treasurer) were both sentenced to four years of imprisonment and were both obligated to pay an amount of twenty five million pesos. Aside from that, the company was also penalized to pay 150,000php to the families of the deceased and 100,000php to the families of the injured.
Although, a few people already paid for the crime, do you think it was enough in order to give justice to the death of at least a hundred and fifty people? There might be some other people who were responsible for the tragedy but who knows.
***
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| Ozone Club in 2008 (Spot.ph) |
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| Ozone Club in 2009 (Niminus) |
Nowadays, the Ozone Club stands between a restaurant and a money-changer. But unlike the lively club as to what it used to be, Spot.ph describes the place now as “old, dirty, and quiet”, placing it at the number one spot of their Top Ten Scariest Spots in Metro Manila. There were rumours of the souls of the “teenagers working the disco stick ‘til the wee hours of the morning”. Oliver Guevara, who used to go ghost hunting, also testified, “There were voices in agony when we went inside years ago. At first, we didn’t realize what it was but as soon as we did, we ran to the exit.”(Spot.ph)
Until today, many are still puzzled about the mystery behind this tragedy. And with the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime declaring this as the worst fire that ever happened in the Philippines, the Ozone Club fire already had a big part in the country’s history.
Sources:
“At Least 150 are Killed in Disco Fire in Manila”. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 19 March 1996. Web. December 2012.
Masanglu, Shianee. “50 Die in QC Disco Fire”. Manila Bulletin 19 March 1996: 10. Print.
Aben, Elena. “QC Fire Chief, Team Relieved”. Manila Bulletin 21 March 1996: 8. Print.
“Top 10 Scariest Spots in Metro Manila”. Spot.ph. Spot, Inc., 30 Oct. 2009. Web. December 2012.
“Malagim na Sunog sa Disco Club”. GMA News Online. GMA Network, Inc., 13 March 2010. Web. December 2012.
“Alaala ng Ozone”. Case Unclosed. GMA. Manila, Philippines. 2 Oct. 2008. Television.
“A Night in Hell”. I Survived. ABS-CBN. Manila, Philippines. 7 Oct. 2008. Television.
Laborte, Annie Rose. “Ozone Tragedy Survivors: Pain, Trauma Still Linger”. Manila Standard. 28 December 1997.
"March 18 Ozone Disco Tragedy 15th Anniversary”. KwentoNiKiko. n.p., n.d. Web. December 2012.
Quitiquit, Jayson. “Balik-Tanaw: Natatandaan Mo Pa Ba Ang Ozone Disco Tragedy?”. Definitely Filipino. Definitely Filipino Blog, n.d. Web. December 2012.
Niminus, Anyo. “Ozone Disco”. Photograph. Public Domain, 2 May 2008. Web. December 2012.
Sandiego, Kevin. “Ozone”. Photograph. Spot.ph. Spot, Inc., 30 Oct. 2009. Web. December 2012.
Sources:
“At Least 150 are Killed in Disco Fire in Manila”. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 19 March 1996. Web. December 2012.
Masanglu, Shianee. “50 Die in QC Disco Fire”. Manila Bulletin 19 March 1996: 10. Print.
Aben, Elena. “QC Fire Chief, Team Relieved”. Manila Bulletin 21 March 1996: 8. Print.
“Top 10 Scariest Spots in Metro Manila”. Spot.ph. Spot, Inc., 30 Oct. 2009. Web. December 2012.
“Malagim na Sunog sa Disco Club”. GMA News Online. GMA Network, Inc., 13 March 2010. Web. December 2012.
“Alaala ng Ozone”. Case Unclosed. GMA. Manila, Philippines. 2 Oct. 2008. Television.
“A Night in Hell”. I Survived. ABS-CBN. Manila, Philippines. 7 Oct. 2008. Television.
Laborte, Annie Rose. “Ozone Tragedy Survivors: Pain, Trauma Still Linger”. Manila Standard. 28 December 1997.
"March 18 Ozone Disco Tragedy 15th Anniversary”. KwentoNiKiko. n.p., n.d. Web. December 2012.
Quitiquit, Jayson. “Balik-Tanaw: Natatandaan Mo Pa Ba Ang Ozone Disco Tragedy?”. Definitely Filipino. Definitely Filipino Blog, n.d. Web. December 2012.
Niminus, Anyo. “Ozone Disco”. Photograph. Public Domain, 2 May 2008. Web. December 2012.
Sandiego, Kevin. “Ozone”. Photograph. Spot.ph. Spot, Inc., 30 Oct. 2009. Web. December 2012.
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