6 dead in Quezon City fire

MANILA, Philippines — A family of five and another individual died in a fire that engulfed a commercial building in Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Joselito Esquivel Jr., director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), said the blaze that hit the building along General Luis Avenue in Barangay Novaliches Proper started at around 12:24 a.m. and reached third alarm at around 12:25 a.m.

Five of the dead are businessman Karmal Direpusun, 40; his wife Norjannah, 23; and their children Abdulrahem, 9; Salma, 7, and five-month-old Abdul Raman, who were all asleep in the Ride and Shop store.  The other fatality has yet to be identified.

Firefighters retrieved the charred remains of the corpses on the ground floor of the two-story building.

Quoting a police report, Esquivel said the fire originated in a barber shop on the first floor.

The fire was put under control at around 1:49 a.m. and doused by around 2:35 a.m.

The cause of the fire and estimated cost of property damage are still being determined by arson investigators.

Meanwhile, 20 families were displaced in a residential fire in Pasig City yesterday.

Eight houses in Barangay Rosario were destroyed by a fire that started at around 12:15 p.m., Eastern Police District director Senior Superintendent Bernabe Balba said in a text message.

The blaze reached second alarm before firefighters put it out at around 1:07 p.m.

Quoting an initial report, Balba said an electrical overload caused the fire.

There were no reported casualties while property damage was estimated at P500,000.

The affected residents were relocated to an evacuation center.