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CEBU CITY, Philippines - It started with a whistling sound from a detached hose of an LPG tank.
Seconds later, the familiar smell of cooking gas enveloped the apartment in Barangay (village) Pardo, Cebu City, startling members of the Jermanie family, who were having lunch.
Carlota Jermanie, 46, tried to reconnect the hose to the tank but the fumes overwhelmed her.
In a panic, her daughter, Rachel Garcia, tried to kick the gas tank out of the house as family members ran out the door.
The explosion that followed rocked the four-door apartment, blowing the kitchen's roof some 10 meters away.
The apartment's second floor also caved in. The explosion damaged three other apartment units on A. Gabuya Street, Pardo.
Four persons were hurt in the explosion. They were Carlota, her son-in-law Carlo Reston Garcia, her next door neighbor Alvin Crecencio and a nanny identified only as Rosemary.
It was also double whammy for Carlota who buried her husband in Manila on May 24 after he died of sepsis.
Tuesday’s LPG tank explosion brought to mind a gas leak accident in September 2006 where a powerful blast destroyed a laundry shop in Mandaue City.
In that incident, an LPG tank that was not properly shut off over the weekend was believed to have triggered the explosion inside Gene's Laundry Services. The attendant, who switched on an industrial-class dryer, suffered major burns. Two passersby were killed by the impact and 14 others were wounded by flying pieces of glass and other sharp objects.
In the Pardo household explosion, Carlota said the LPG tank was just bought and delivered to their house last Monday morning.
She said they asked the delivery boy to install the LPG tank and connect the hose to the gas stove because they didn't know how to do it.
“Yong delivery boy ang pinakabit ko sa tangke kasi walang marunong nun sa amin. Sinabihan ko pa siya kahapon na ayusin niya ang pagkabit (The delivery boy connected the hose to the LPG tank because nobody here knew how to do it. I even told him yesterday to do it properly),” she said.
Carlota, Rachel, her sister Ruzette Garcia and brother-in-law Carlo Reston were having lunch about 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday when they heard a hissing sound and smelled gas.
Ruzette, along with husband Carlo Reston, went to her mother's home on Tuesday for a visit.
They immediately checked the tank and were surprised to find the gas hose was disconnected from the LPG tank.
Before running out of the house, Rachel kicked the gas tank out of the house. The explosion followed a few seconds later.
Carlota bruised her shoulder after she was hit by a collapsing window. Reston was wounded in his left foot. Their neighbor, Crecencio, a teacher from the Pardo Elementary School, sustained first-degree burns.
Rosemary, a nanny hired by apartment owner Teodoro Cardenas, suffered cuts in her leg. She was standing in front of the store beside the apartment when the explosion occurred.
“Kusog kaayo ang buto, unya, mora'g ni-aswat (I was so far away, yet the explosion was so loud that it seemed to lift the apartment),” said a neighbor, Robert Paderama, who was about 50 meters away when the explosion happened.
The explosion was felt at the Pardo Elementary School across the street.
School principal Teresa Aliviado said the grade school pupils, who were in their classrooms, were shocked when they heard the blast.
“Abi man gani nako nga naay bomba nga nibuto, ang pagka-uyog sa yuta was like naay earthquake, mura mi'g nangatuwad (We thought it was a bomb. The ground shook like there was an earthquake. We almost fell over),” she said.
Aliviado said she immediately told the teachers and the guards not to let the pupils out of the classrooms. Some teachers and pupils were able to run to the gates to check on what happened.
Classes later resumed after three fire trucks from the Cebu City Fire Department arrived to put out the fire.
Neighbors also helped by throwing buckets of water while waiting for the fire trucks to arrive.
The other apartment units also reported some damage, which Cardenas said, would amount to at least P150,000.
Cardenas said he will have the incident investigated and may sue the LPG dealer, if evidence would later show that there was negligence on the part of the delivery boy who installed the tank.
But if the inquiry shows the Jermanie family is to blame, the family would have to pay for the damage.
Carlota said she could hardly believe the series of tragic incidents that befell their family.
They had just arrived from Manila for the funeral of Carlota's husband, who died of sepsis on May 15. She did not know where to stay for the night since they are from Manila and don't have relatives in Cebu.
Jermanie fought back tears when she heard her grandson, Richmond, ask his mother, “Saan tayo matutulog? Ma, saan tayo maliligo (Where will we sleep? Mom, where will we bathe?)”
The family was only able to save a few belongings and is staying inside a chapel as a temporary shelter.
She said the kitchen was damaged and the second floor of the apartment gave way due to the impact of the explosion.
