5 dead in Navotas fire

MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of families in Navotas were evacuated due to a fire that raged for five hours and left five people, including a mother and her two-year-old boy, dead.

The fire that struck a residential area in Barangay Bagumbayan North on Monday started at around 4 p.m. and reached third alarm in minutes. The fire spread to nearby Barangay Navotas West.

Authorities raised the alarm to Task Force Alpha shortly before 6:30 p.m. and put out the fire three hours later.

Fire fighters had difficulty putting out the blaze due to a scheduled water interruption in the area, where the houses were made of light materials, Navotas city fire superintendent Joel Diwata said in television interviews.

Teresa Lopez, 40, and her baby Thirdy were among the five killed in the fire, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection.

The other fatalities were identified as Asuncion Gonzales, 50; Darlene Baluyot, 19, and Diorella Gonzales, 18.

The fire displaced 174 families in Barangay Bagumbayan North and 267 families in Barangay Navotas West, according to city hall.

In an interview over dzRH yesterday, Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco said authorities are looking at an abandoned candle or faulty electrical wiring as the cause of the fire.

In a News5 interview, Barangay Bagumbayan North chairperson Malou Gonzales said the fire started at a nearby electric post and quickly spread due to strong winds.

The city has provided meals and cash assistance to affected residents, who were relocated to a nearby COVID-19 isolation facility.

Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo visited the fire victims at the evacuation area yesterday to provide assistance.

Fire victims have asked the public for donations such as clothes and cash to help them start anew.

Woman dies in Ermita blaze

Meanwhile, in Manila, a woman estimated to be between 65 and 70 years old died in a fire that reached third alarm before noon yesterday along Teresita street in Barangay 661, Ermita.

The Manila fire district has yet to identify the victim, who lived alone in the razed residential building.