7-hour fire razes Zambo City village

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A huge fire triggered by an unattended lighted candle swept through a slum area here Thursday night, destroying more than 1,500 wooden houses but causing no casualties, authorities said.

Fanned by strong winds, the seven-hour blaze quickly spread from one block to another, engulfing narrow roads and alleys of Barangay Camino Nuevo in thick smoke before it was put out at about 1 a.m. yesterday, Mayor Celso Lobregat said.

"It was an inferno that quickly spread," he said.

Low water pressure from hydrants and inadequate equipment hampered firefighters, said city fire marshal Janice Espero.

Investigation showed that a child left unattended a candle her grandmother had asked her to light because she had to run an errand for her uncle, Espero said.

"The fire ate up an estimated six hectares of residential areas. It was the worst so far," said Rep. Erico Basilio Fabian.

Local officials converted four schools into temporary shelters for the thousands who were displaced.

Officials estimated the damage at about P50 million.

The city council, in an emergency session, declared Barangay Camino Nuevo a calamity area. — With AP