Fire hits Muslim resettlement area

A two-hour fire broke out in Taguig City yesterday and left homeless at least 600 families in a resettlement area for Muslims while the city was celebrating its feast day.

Probers said the fire started at around 11:15 a.m. from a unit at a four-story tenement on Quiapo II in Barangay Maharlika, where Muslim residents from Quiapo in Manila were transferred during the term of former mayor and now Senator Alfredo Lim.

The blaze, which reached Task Force Bravo at noon, quickly gutted the building and spread to neighboring houses in the area.

Fire Officer 3 Teodoro Regaspi said responding firefighters had a hard time putting out the fire because streets going to the area were extremely narrow, forcing them to use hose extensions.

No one was reported hurt in the fire that was put out at exactly 1:15 p.m.

The area was also hit by fire last year.

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the blaze, but said their initial findings lead them to believe that an unattended gas stove in Unit 9 could be the possible origin.

Affected families have been temporarily housed at public schools near the area.

Local and barangay officials, who had been attending the activities of the Sta. Anang Banak Festival, rushed to the site to provide relief goods for the victims.

Barangay treasurer Edith Borilla admitted that they would also work to help rebuild houses through the help of the offices of Mayor Freddie Tinga and Rep. Allan Peter Cayetano.