3 killed, P5M lost in Las Piñas building fire

A fire hit a commercial building in Las Piñas City Tuesday morning, leaving three people dead and around P5 million worth of property destroyed.

Arson investigator FO1 Paul Campanan identified the casualties as Michael Wang, 52; his daughter Shiela Wang, 28; and their tenant Ben Tinio, 45.

The three lived in the two-story building on Marcos Alvarez Street in Barangay Talon I. Owned by Michael Wang, it housed his family and Tinio aside from an auto supply store, a tarpaulin design shop and upholstery shop.

“The fire spread fast within the building because [it was] full of office supplies, tarpaulins, papers and other materials that easily caught flame,” Campanan said.

The fire started at 1:30 a.m. in Michael Wang’s room on the second floor. It was declared under control at 3:15 a.m. and put out at 5:55 a.m.

The victims failed to get out of the building and suffocated to death.

“We tried our best to get them out but it was too late. The building was locked from the inside which made it difficult for the occupants to exit immediately,” Campanan said.