8 dead in Quezon City fire

MANILA, Philippines — Eight people, including three minors, died when a fire razed a three-story house in Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

The remains of the victims were recovered after a mopping-up operation in a house in Barangay San Isidro Galas, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)’s National Capital Region field unit.

Three of the fatalities are minors: two boys aged two and 12 and a 15-year-old girl.

The BFP said Jophel Samosa, 36, was treated by emergency medical responders for laceration.

Reports said the fire started at past 2 a.m. and reached the first alarm. It was extinguished at around 2:48 a.m.

Arson probers said the fire originated on the second floor of the house. The cause of the blaze remains unknown.

Samosa said the fire was already engulfing the second floor of the house when his brother-in-law woke him up.

He and other members of his family escaped through a hole on the roof.

Twenty-four firetrucks and three ambulances responded.

Some firefighters went up to an adjacent house to put out the blaze.

Damage to property was placed at P3.6 million.

Councilor Vincent Belmonte of the city’s fourth district expressed his condolences to the victims’ relatives.

He also provided food and other assistance to the displaced victims.