Muntinlupa fire leaves 4,000 families homeless

MANILA, Philippines – A huge fire that engulfed two slum areas in Muntinlupa City left around 4,000 poor families homeless, officials said yesterday.

The blaze started at around 4:10 a.m. at a store selling liquefied petroleum gas tanks at Carmina Compound in Barangay Cupang and immediately spread to Bunyi Compound 1, Mayor Aldrin San Pedro said.

"Approximately 4,000 families have been left homeless," San Pedro said. "We were able to contain the fire and luckily there were no casualties."

He said "this is a huge squatter area. Houses were made of light material, so the fire quickly spread."

It was not immediately clear how many people were left homeless, but would likely be more than 20,000.

City Fire Marshal Roderick Aguto told The STAR the fire, which lasted for about four hours, was placed under general alarm about 6:35 a.m. and was declared under control two hours after.

General alarm means all firetrucks available in Metro Manila are sent to the site to help put out the fire.

No one was injured in the fire but it destroyed around P8 million worth of property, Aguto said.

Aguto said the victims will be temporarily housed at Cupang covered court and a vacant lot beside Liberty Homes.

Delayed response

Firefighters found it difficult to penetrate the area because of its narrow alleys, Aguto said, adding that the arrival of rescue teams was delayed by the ongoing construction of the Skyway extension.

Aguto said around 20 minutes after the fire broke out, San Pedro rushed to the area to assist the victims. The mayor also instructed barangay officials and the local social welfare office to ensure the victims are cared for.

Aguto said as of 4:30 p.m. yesterday the origin of the fire was still unclear, although they have received reports that an unattended gas stove was the likely cause of the blaze.

Victim Dennis Castro, sitting beside a small statue of Mother Mary, said the statue and important documents were the only items he was able to save. He said his devotion to Mary has kept him sane.

Housewife Irene Balloso, 30, said although their house was not burned down, looters took everything inside.

“Nothing was left. They took everything, including our clothes. It’s so painful that it feels like your house was also reduced to ashes,” she said while nursing a nine-month-old boy.

Balloso said they immediately left their house when she heard people screaming. When her husband returned, she said, the house was already empty.

Street sales

Vendors Rogelio Casane and Roberto Pobe said they rushed to the scene after hearing about the fire, not to help victims, but to sell “ice scramble,” a type of beverage.

“We earn a large sum of money whenever fire breaks out because there’s no electricity and the people are thirsty,” Pobe said.

He added that he usually earns P850 a day but because of the incident has already earned P650 in a span of one hour.

One family was forced to cook their pet rooster because they lost everything – even money – in the fire.

“It’s painful for me. The rooster has been my pet of four years but I have no choice. I don’t have money and I am already hungry,” victim Pastor Abrigo said.