Inches and Seconds ahead from Death

Thats how I personally would say to what my brother had experienced. Above all the traumas, there are lots of false accusations and negative comments towards what really happened up there. Up until now there are no definite answers as to where or what was the reason behind on how the fire ignited. So take it from my brother who was with a small group of people that got out from that establishment before the fire burnt everything inside including 38 people inside that was trapped last December 24.

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Here is my brother's testimony and some other testimonies as well.

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_{My Brother and his girlfriend.} Here's what my brother said on a social media to inform everyone what really happened.

I feel cheated.

I never had plans of posting my experience, being able to come out of the fire incident at NCCC mall, but infos coming out of the news are inaccurate and some are untrue. This is stressful, relieving the bad experience, i couldn't eat nor sleep. But i believe everyone needs to know.

People tend to believe what they read and hear in the news. If you want the truth, read all the posts of those who survived and see for yourself. Our stories are not made up.

I, Salvador Bhadz Casas Medenilla Jr., an employee of SSI Philippines. I was there and I was able to come out of that fire incident.

Around 9:40 - 9:45(I couldn't remember the exact time, people came back from meal break and they were already logged back in to dial), we were smelling burning rubber. People were shouting "Bhadz! Smoke on the vent!" Then and there, I hear people instructing and shouting to evacuate. There was NO ALARM AT ALL when the smoke started coming out of the vent. I am no expert but as what i know, sprinklers has sensors. There were no sprinklers at that time. It was the company guards who pulled the alarm. Instructions were clear to go to the fire exit near the elevator and the suspected CR where they were stuck. One person opened the fire exit door and black smoke was coming out. It was too hot, people tried stepping inside but it was already too hot. Alas, sprinklers blasted, but it was just like spit, it spat out a small amount of water and it was black and it was hot. Simultaneously, the lights went out. There was no electricity. It was dark, people started screaming. Smoke was starting to cover us. I maintained composure, I saw my girlfriend and grabbed her and she was at my left arm. At my right arm is one of our agents, at our back is one agent as well, and upfront is our 5 months pregnant agent. I told them to stop crying and cover their mouths. I hear people shouting to go back inside, smoke was up to our knees now. ZERO VISIBILITY. I was just trying to remember how many steps I have to make to get back inside the office. I told them to crouch. ALL OF THESE HAPPENED IN NOT MORE THAN 10 F*CKING SECONDS. And believe me, when I say 10 seconds, it's 10 seconds.

Our last option was to go to the 2nd fire exit which was about 30-50 meters away(rough estimate). Someone was shouting that the second exit is a bad option as well. But as we came back in the office, smoke was too thick, I was breathing carbon dioxide. I thought that was it, i thought that was the end. God bless those guys who were shouting "GO TO THE LOBBY!" Prolly Sir Lloyd Angeles and Gab'bo Hofileña Delgado. I docked and tried to check where are we situated, and then I saw where the lobby was. So i stood up and guided the people that were with me and i said hold on and run with me. We were able to get out just in time. We tried looking back but the smoke was too thick. As we go down towards the ground floor, the mall guards move as if they didn't care at all. They were just standing and guiding people to go down right away. We were screaming to them saying "NAA PAY TAO SA TAAS! TABANGI NINYO!" And i can still remember one guard saying "Baba na, Sir." in a calm way, pushing us to go down and outside the building. They knew there was fire and there was no alarm and no one even cared to inform us. This is why I am saying that I FEEL CHEATED. All we had was a few seconds and some didn't make it out. Those people are my friends. More than that, we are family.

I am a calm person, but at that time, I lost composure. It hurts writing this. It hurts to tell my story over and over again. It hurts that other people are saying things that are not true. Take it from those who were there that THERE WAS NO ALARM, SPRINKLERS FAILED, FIRE EXIT WAS NOT A GOOD OPTION, AND FIRE DIDN'T COME FROM US. Fire fighters did their best. It was too hot and they couldn't penetrate. Now tell me, who is to blame? Who are you to say that others could've done more? Who are you to say that something could've been done? YOU WERE NOT THERE! YOU KNOW NOTHING! Stop posting things that are inaccurate and not true! I know family members of those unfortunate can't take it as of the moment and they need someone to point and blame, most likely to ask for an explanation of what really happened. My sincerest condolences to those who lost their loved ones. We didn't just lose friends, we lost those whom we treat as family as well. We are hoping for the truth to come out as well.

Everybody was thinking about those who were not able to come out, but we need to put those who survived into consideration as well. Most of us are suffering from emotional stress and those untruthful and inaccurate posts/news are hurting us.

May this enlighten those who doesn't know what happened. I was given a few seconds to live and I thank God for that chance. This second life will not be put into waste. Let us continue praying for the souls of our colleagues, friends, and family that didn't make it out. May their souls rest in peace. I know they are with the Lord now.

WE ARE SSI AND WE ARE NOT TO BLAME.

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Here's another testimony of a person that my brother work with. Lloyd Angeles

Thank you to those who reached out. There are so many stories on what happened, what if’s, “experts” saying stuff that should be done.

But I was there during the incident, People are asking na “why did they go the CR?”. All I can say is you will panic if all you see is black smoke around you. It was not minutes but seconds. Everything happened so fast. I/We followed the Evac plan and divided each teams to their respective exits but the smoke was already thick and it was already hot. I picked up an extinguisher thinking the fire is the AHU. I looked to my right and saw agents just standing looking at each other and this was the Fire Exit going to Ma-a and asked them what are they doing. Someone said smoke was too thick. We said “go to the Lobby”. At this time Dongz Gataber pulled the alarm. Because since it started we didn’t hear anything. Ran back and saw Bobby (Utility) and told him to open the lobby. While people are exiting someone told me there are still people at locker area. I ran to the locker area and smoke was already black and I yelled lobby so many times i couldn’t count it. After everyone exited the hallway, I started moving towards the lobby and exited the building.

On the ground I started checking my team’s headcount, ran to the other side of NCCC and started yelling “W3, W3, W3” then went to back of the mall to check if I have agents there too. When they told me that we are missing 4 and 2 of those are confirmed that they are still inside. I went back up and informed the fire fighters that we still have people trapped. James Michael Dela Cerna was there also helping and guiding the fire fighters. We tried to go back in on every possible entry and it was too hot and the smoke was too thick. You cannot say that they did not do anything because I witnessed their efforts.

This is the saddest Christmas. I cant sleep thinking about them. I can see their faces everytime I close my eyes rest of the agents - I am so sorry... I know you are all up there. Rest in peace and please watch over us.

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Another agent who got out safely. Valster Huera

A personal account of what happened yesterday during NCCC Mall fire.
-- Our office is located at 4th floor of NCCC Mall Davao. December 23 Saturday, around 10am, we were happily dialing because we're almost done with the shift. It was the last day of work before the holiday celebrations so everyone was excited to go home. 5-10minutes before 10am, we smelled something burning like plastic or toxic fumes and seconds later, smoke started coming out from our airconditioners. Everything happened so fast because in just a few seconds the smoke started to get very heavy and dark so we all ran to the fire exit near the locker area shaking and shouting. When i got there, i was lucky enough that i was able to get my bag from my locker while my hands were still shaking. People were already crowded as we approach the fire exit. I heard someone shouting, "Balik kay dili maagian ang fire exit. Init kaau sulod!" (Go back, fire exit is unpassable. It's so hot inside). So we slowly moved back inside but as we approached the attendance area, people from the 2nd fire exit came rushing towards us and said it's also unpassable there. We were all panicking and i heard people shouting ang crying as the lights went out, light bulbs started exploding and smoke was already very dark and unbearable. It was almost zero visibility while we were still trapped inside the locker area. I honestly thought i was gonna die that time 'coz i already had a hard time breathing. The sprinklers did not work so someone who has water with them threw it in the air and i even got some water on me which apparently turned into black ash stains on my jacket. We had no choice so we went back inside the office, and i honestly had no idea where to go as everyone was panicking and running just to be safe. Suddenly, we saw someone from the lobby waving and shouting to go to the lobby area's exit towards the mall's theater so we ran as fast as we could going there. The smoke in the third and second floor was not as heavy as in the fourth floor so i can still see the stairs as i was rushing down and i was able to get out safely in 2nd floor's exit near the food court. I immediately called my sister, hurried home and started crying really hard when i got home. I have colds so the mucus and the saliva i was spitting had black ashes on them. I can just imagine how heavy the smoke was especially for the people still trapped inside. It breaks my heart to know there were no chance of survival for alot of people still trapped in our facility after the rescue operations that happened overnight. They were my friends, my supervisors, my colleagues and the people i see on the floor everyday for seven years. This is the worst nightmare of my life. A very traumatic near death experience, and up until now the scene from the locker area keeps on flashing back to me. I still have hopes that everyone inside there are still safe. Let's all pray for them and for their families. It's Christmas time and i hope everyone is safe with their family and friends. Stay strong and keep safe everyone.

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And here is a hero that wasn't able to get out in time. Melvin is a member of NCCC Mall’s emergency action team who saved 83 SSI call center agents and other employees. He had exited the mall already but climbed back when he knew that there are 35 agents trapped inside the CR at the 4th floor.

Melvin Gaa, is one of the 36 dead bodies found at SSI Lobby near the stairway. He has with him those people that was trapped but they didn’t make it through. Overall 38 found dead.

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We are hoping that everyone who had trauma about the said incident will recover fast. My brother and his gf is undergoing therapy and debriefing. Our family is extending our helping hand and still gathering anything to help the affected families who lost their love ones and to those who lost their jobs. There are few people who pledged and we are raising a certain amount for those who was unfortunately trapped and died in that incident. I myself shared what I earned here on Steamit. Thanks to this social media I was able gather a certain amount but I know its still not enough.

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I'm an artist. I do arts for a living. I post art stuff here on Steemit. But I guess this particular article needs to be posted. The main purpose of this post is to send a message to everyone what really happened and I would appreciate if this post would reach to that certain point where it could help the victims.

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Thank You Everyone. Lets spread this message. This might help the victims to find justice. Take care everyone.

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Click [here](https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1731420943576163&id=100001248222357) for the orignal post of my brother.