{"id":55957,"date":"2018-01-03T06:19:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T06:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=55957"},"modified":"2018-01-03T06:19:44","modified_gmt":"2018-01-03T06:19:44","slug":"philippines-suspends-work-call-center-u-s-firm-mall-deadly-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/philippines-suspends-work-call-center-u-s-firm-mall-deadly-fire.html","title":{"rendered":"Philippines suspends work at call center of U.S. firm, mall after deadly fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Philippines suspends work at call center of U.S. firm, mall after deadly fire<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">The Philippines has suspended operations of a shopping mall and a call center run by a U.S. firm where a fire killed 38 people, citing failure to fully comply with fire safety requirements for five successive years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Investigators looking into the Dec. 23 blaze in Davao City, which broke out at a furniture and fabric store on a lower floor before engulfing the call center\u2019s offices, said there were indications of fire safety lapses that may have contributed to the tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Charito Plaza, director-general of the government\u2019s Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), said the agency has suspended the registration of the New City Commercial Center (NCCC) and American firm Research Now SSI in Davao for failing to meet certain safety requirements since 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">\u201cViolations were more of the non-compliance of annual emergency drills to test the fire safety equipment, response and rescue capability, sprinklers and emergency exits,\u201d Plaza told Reuters in a text message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">The suspension took effect on Dec. 29, which meant NCC and SSI, will be barred from any further expansion in the Philippines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">NCCC could not immediately be reached for comment. An SSI official declined to comment and referred Reuters to its legal representative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">SSI employed 500 people at the Davao call center and since the fire said it would not comment until after investigations were concluded. NCCC has insisted it had met safety requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Four fire officials being questioned over the blaze have been relieved of their duties after initial findings from a probe showed they have \u201csome liabilities\u201d a government investigator said on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 8pt\">Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-philippines-fire\/philippines-suspends-work-at-call-center-of-u-s-firm-mall-after-deadly-fire-idUSKBN1ES02Q<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-background-color\">\n\t\t\t  <div \n\t\t\t  \tclass = \"fb-comments\" \n\t\t\t  \tdata-href = \"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/philippines-suspends-work-call-center-u-s-firm-mall-deadly-fire.html\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-numposts = \"10\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-lazy = \"true\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-colorscheme = \"light\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-order-by = \"social\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-mobile=true>\n\t\t\t  <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t  <style>\n\t\t    .fb-background-color {\n\t\t\t\tbackground: #ffffff !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t.fb_iframe_widget_fluid_desktop iframe {\n\t\t\t    width: 630px !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t  <\/style>\n\t\t  ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Philippines suspends work at call center of U.S. firm, mall after deadly fire The Philippines has suspended operations of a shopping mall and a call center run by a U.S. firm where a fire killed 38 people, citing failure to fully comply with fire safety requirements for five successive years. 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