4 hurt in Navotas blaze

MANILA, Philippines — Four men were injured when a fire razed an apartment building in Barangay Tangos South, Navotas City yesterday.

Renato Narciso, 47; Constancio Dios, 66; Joel Vita, 37, and Nestea Samson, 29, sustained minor burns, abrasions and lacerations.

The four men were among the 25 families who rented rooms at the four-story building owned by Romy Biccuelles, according to Fire Officer 1 Anthony Cubilla of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)’s Navotas office.

The blaze started on the fourth floor of the building at past 9 a.m. and reached second alarm at around 9:20 a.m. The flames spread to the entire building but did not damage neighboring houses.

Firefighters on 14 BFP trucks and volunteers on 25 more trucks controlled the fire at around 9:57 a.m. and put it out at around 10:11 a.m., Cubilla said.

The fire caused P50,000 in property damage, he added.

The BFP said it has yet to determine what caused the fire but initial reports indicate it could have started from an overheated electric fan.

Meanwhile, five families were left homeless after a fire hit a slum community in Mandaluyong City yesterday.

The ire started at around 10:25 a.m. on the second floor of a two-story shanty owned by Camilo Royo and reached first alarm before it was put out by firefighters at around 10:46 a.m., arson probers said. The cause has not been determined.

There were no casualties during the fire, which destroyed P10,000 worth of property.

In Pasig City, a fire destroyed a two-story house in Barangay Rosario the same day.

The fire broke out at around 12:15 p.m. and was put out by firefighters at around 12:32 p.m.

Two families were displaced while the estimated cost of damage to property was pegged at P20,000.