5/28/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly alarm and helped pump out the water in the engine room. [53] As to the burning, respondent failed to successfully controvert Gile’s claim that he saw the former go to the paint room, soak his hands in a can full of thinner and proceed to the incinerator door where he was set ablaze. In fact, respondent’s burnt overalls conform to the aforesaid claim as it had green paint on the arms and body and smelled strongly of thinner, while the open paint tin can that was found in the vicinity contained solvent which had the same green color found on the overalls. Second, respondent’s version that the burning was caused by an accident is hardly supported by the evidence on record. The purported explosion in the incinerator was belied by Gile who also claimed that there was no fire in the incinerator room at the time respondent got burned. This was corroborated by Bejada who testified having ordered an ordinary seaman that was burning deck waste in the incinerator early that day to extinguish the fire with water and close up the incinerator door because of bad weather conditions. Accordingly, an inspection of the incinerator after the incident showed that there were unburnt cardboard cartons found inside with no sign of explosion and the steel plates surrounding it were cool to the touch. Further, as aptly discerned by the LA, if there was really an incinerator explosion, then respondent’s injury would have been more serious.[54] Respondent debunked Gile’s claim by merely asserting in his Answer and Rejoinder before the POEA that the latter could not have been in the room at the time he got burned as he was not the first person to rescue him and concluded that he could not have soaked his hands in a can full of thinner considering the extent of damage caused to his hands. [55] This argument is riddled with serious flaws: Gile could have been the second man in, and still personally know the matters he has alleged. Also, that respondent soaked his hands in thinner is not denied by the fact that the greatest damage was not caused to it since the fire could have started at some part of his body considering that his overalls also had flammable chemicals. Reason also dictates that he could have extinguished the fire on his hands sooner than the other parts of his body. In any event, the medical records of respondent, particularly the report[56 ]issued by the Prince of Wales Hospital Burns Surgery, show that he suffered from “deep burn area” that was distributed over his left upper limb, right hand, left flank and both thighs.[57] To assert that respondent’s hands should have suffered the greatest damage is plainly argumentative and records are bereft of showing as to the exact degree of burn suffered for each part. To add, Bejada’s statement that respondent’s burnt overalls had patches of green paint on the arms and body and strongly smelled of thinner conforms with Gile’s claim that he soaked his hands in a can of thinner before approaching the incinerator (thinner may be found in a paint room). Such fact further fortifies petitioners’ assertion that his injury was self-inflicted as a prudent man would not dispose of garbage in the incinerator under such condition. And if only to placate other doubts, the CA’s finding that “some chemicals splashed [on elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/56605 7/31