MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE 2) A three-hour fire that reached the highest alarm injured one person, left over 2,000 families homeless, and destroyed over P5 million worth of property in Makati and Pasay Wednesday, authorities said.

The injured was identified as Jun Jun Buenafe, a resident of Barangay (village) Bangkal, Makati City where the fire started at 10 a.m. and "spilled over" to other villages, reaching E. Rodriguez Extension in Pasay City, said Chief Inspector Junito Maslang, Pasay Bureau of Fire Protection chief.

Initial investigation revealed that the fire could have been caused by a rice cooker that was left unattended by Recorta's home.

Maslang said the blaze spread fast, and within an hour, crossed the city boundary to Barangay 144 and then Barangay 143, both in Pasay, hitting houses mostly made of light and combustible materials.

The BFP Pasay declared a general alarm around 11 a.m. so that fire trucks from nearby cities could be deployed to help put out the fire.

Firefighters declared a fire out at 1:45 p.m.

Maslang said the number of burned houses in the Pasay side of the slum area reached 700. Damage to property was between P5 million and P10 million, he said.

Fire Officer 3 Wilfredo Nardo, Makati fire investigator, said the fire razed 70 houses in Barangay Bangkal.

The fire victims were seen rushing back and forth from their houses to the street to save their belongings. For hours, the residents and their things clogged the stretch of Edsa in Pasay City.

A woman was seen crying because she had left her dog inside the house. ?I only got clothes and some food, it?s a pity I was not able to save my dog,? she said.

Most residents blamed the fire to direction of the wind, saying this was the third time they were hit by fire.

?It was like this before. The wind always goes to our direction,? said Salvacion Retorca, 66, referring to two other fire incidents that occurred before Christmas and New Year in the last 10 years.

Maslang said this was not the first time fire hit the row of shanties in these areas. Fire hit the area in 2003 and 2006.