A man reportedly died of electrocution while two others were injured when a fire of still unknown origin broke out at a shantytown in Malabon City yesterday afternoon.
“A male resident is confirmed dead of electrocution while two others were also reported hurt,” Senior Fire Officer 2 Baltazar Erestain, Malabon City Bureau of Fire Protection radio operator, told The STAR.
Erestain, however, could not yet officially provide the names of the victims as of press time yesterday, saying that their arson investigators were “still in the field.”
Reports, however, identified the fatality as Ariel Javier.
According to Erestain, a fire started in the middle of a slum area in Gozon Compound in Barangay Tonsuya at around 1:05 p.m.
The blaze quickly spread through the densely populated neighborhood, where houses were made of old wood and other light materials.
The searing heat of the sun added to the intensity of the fire that in a matter of two hours it reached Task Force Bravo. But three hours after the blaze started, a heavy downpour occurred.
“The instant rain helped our firemen in dousing the blaze,” Erestain said.
The fire was declared under control at about 4:47 p.m.
“As of now, our firemen led by fire marshal Rodrigo Reyes, with more than 30 fire trucks were still in the final stages of putting out the blaze,” Erestain said.
Mayor Canuto Oreta, meanwhile, ordered the City Social Welfare and Development to immediately assist the fire victims.
“Basic needs such as canned goods, rice, used clothing and blankets, especially tents, would immediately be sent to the victims as ordered by the mayor,” Bong Padua, Oreta’s public information officer, said.
The fire victims and their salvaged belongings, soaked by the heavy rains, occupied most of Letre Road, a major thoroughfare that connects Malabon to Caloocan City.
The Gozon Compound is a privately owned piece of land that is the subject of a decade-old legal dispute between its owner and the well-organized groups of temporary settlers.