Fire razes shanties, school in Tondo

MANILA, Philippines - A fire that was caused by a malfunctioning air conditioner destroyed shanties and a school in Tondo, Manila yesterday morning, leaving around 60 families homeless.

No one was reported hurt or killed during the 45-minute fire, which reached the fourth alarm and destroyed around P300,000 worth of property. Some of the residents used rafts to cross a waterway and avoid the fire. 

More than 1,000 students were evacuated from the Dr. Juan Nolasco High School. Principal Rosalinda Nepomuceno said the fire destroyed the second and third floors of the school building. She said they will conduct repair work and classes are expected to resume on Monday.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Lords Hernandez said the fire broke out at the house of Edna Javier at around 10:30 a.m.

“Javier admitted that the air conditioner they were using overheated and exploded. She became frantic when she saw that the air conditioner was emitting smoke that she tried to quell it with water. The water, however, just worsened the situation since the electricity was not shut off,” he said.   – Sandy Araneta, Nestor Etolle