MANILA, Philippines?(UPDATE 2) A grandfather and a 10-year-old boy were locked in an embrace when firefighters found them among the 11 people trapped and killed in a fire that swept through a residential area in Navotas City from midnight to Sunday dawn.

An elderly man, meanwhile, died of a heart attack brought by the stress of seeing the houses burning, the police said.

Firefighters, even the veterans, shivered at the sight of 11 bodies burned beyond recognition inside their gutted houses, Senior Fire Officer 4 Joselito Dugan, operations chief of Navotas? Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

He said the arms of Carlos Blancaflor, 92, were wrapped around his grandson, Gerald, when residents and firefighters found them under the slabs of concrete and burned roofs.

Candles were lit at the houses where bodies of nine others were found. Nothing was left in the residential compound except ashes and burned valuables.

Six of the dead were children while the youngest of them was a one-year-old baby.

Superintendent Felix Medes, fire marshal of Navotas, said Remedios Ortillana, 62, died of heart attack while watching how the village of San Roque, which was supposed to be celebrating the feast of its patron saint San Roque, on Sunday, turned into an ?inferno.?

The fire started at 11:08 p.m. at the house of 28-year-old George Milagrosa whom the neighbors described as ?mentally ill with a history of drug abuse,? Medes said.

Milagrosa, who was believed to have started the fire, was also burned to death.

The Navotas? BFP placed the status of the fire at Task Force Alpha at around 2 a.m.

?At 2:30 a.m., the fire was under control. It was at that time we saw the corpses of a family,? Medes said.

What remained of Jennifer Agarin was seen next to her children, 1-year-old Harvey and three-year-old Jessie James. Their grandfather William Agarin, 56, was also found charred inside an adjacent house.

The other fatalities were identified as Jerod Salonga, 12; Natalia Salonga, 11; Angela Salonga, 10; and a certain Eric Tambor.

?All of them were trapped in the fire because the only pathway in the area was a narrow alley? with one dead-end, Mendes said.

?Only two people at a time can pass through that alley,? he added.

Era Trinidad, head teacher of San Roque High School, saw the commotion from the fourth floor of her house. She described the scenes along A. Liongson as ?hell-like.?

?I could see from my window the children jumping and not knowing what to do because the flames seemed to have blocked their way,? Trinidad said, tears welling up in her eyes.

She said the people outside the fire scene kept running and trying to find a safe place.

A portion of the second floor of their school located next to the burned houses was also destroyed.

In an interview, couple May and Ronaldo Blancaflor said they could still not accept that their only son was killed in the fire.

?I used to tell him to take care and not to leave his lolo (grandfather) alone. Last night, that was exactly what he did, he did not leave his lolo?s side,? Ronaldo said in between sobs.

He said he found Gerald?s steel mouse trap far from the fire scene.

?He may have come back for his grandfather. He should have run away and saved himself,? May Blancaflor chimed in with a tone of regret.

She said the grandfather embraced Gerald perhaps, thinking he may be saving him by doing that.

?He is now gone. I don?t want to close my eyes because I keep seeing him in deep pain and shouting ?Mama, help me. It?s very hot in here,?? the mother said.

Francis Agarin, son of one of the fatalities, said it was impossible for him to penetrate the already huge flames and save his relatives without ending up dead.

?I know my father and the others were still inside. I still wanted to save them but some firefighters blocked me,? he said.

One firefighter also tried to brave the flames upon seeing children waving frantically for help. But he was stopped by his own colleagues warning him about the dangers ahead, a firefighter who requested anonymity said.

He said the flames were rolling so fast due to the strong wind.

?We couldn?t sleep after that. We wished to save those children,? the firefighter said.

Medes said the residents suspected that the ?deranged? Milagrosa started the fire because of several instances when he was seen playing with matches.

?According to his neighbors, he was a pyromaniac, clapping in joy when seeing something ignited,? Medes said.

But the fire marshal said it would be too early to rule arson because witnesses had not submitted their affidavits.

After the fire, around 130 families were left homeless while P5 million worth of properties were destroyed.

The victims, who have nowhere to go, have been staying at the gymnasium of San Roque High School.

?Please help us. All the things we have worked so hard for are now gone,? Jovita Boco, a 57-year-old laundry worker, said.