4 fires hit Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines — At least four fires broke out in Metro Manila since Friday.

In Quezon City, a fire left 74 persons homeless in Barangay Matandang Balara on Friday night.

Michael Aquino, officer on duty at the barangay command center, said in a phone interview that the fire destroyed 24 houses in Visayan Hills.

He added one of their volunteers was treated for difficulty breathing.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said the fire started at around 7:22 p.m. and reached first alarm before it was put out at around 8:50 p.m.

Aquino said the fire originated on the second floor of a three-story house.

“May nagsaing daw na kahoy ang gamit (Someone cooked rice using wood as fuel),” he said.

Meanwhile, a fire razed at least five houses along Alco street in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa yesterday.

The fire broke out at around 10:37 a.m. and reached first alarm before it was put out at around 11:17 a.m.

The BFP said the fire originated in a shanty owned by the Sevilla family.

The estimated cost of damage to property was pegged at P25,000.

In Manila, the BFP-National Capital Region (NCR) reported that the blaze destroyed five houses in a compound along Jasmine street in Punta, Sta. Ana yesterday.

The fire started from the second floor of a two-story house, the BFP-NCR said. The first alarm was raised at around 12:54 p.m. and reached second alarm until the fire was put out at around 1:58 p.m.

No person died or got injured in the blaze, which displaced 17 individuals, the BFP noted.

Meanwhile, an informal settler area composed of around 20 houses was gutted by fire in Bitik, Barangay Gen. T. de Leon in Valenzuela City at around the same time the blaze hit the compound in Manila.

The fire reached third alarm before it was put out at around 1:50 p.m. No death or injury was recorded during the fire. – Ghio Ong