1 killed, 17 houses gutted in Valenzuela City fire

One person was killed and 34 families were affected by a fire that struck in a residential area in Valenzuela City on Friday morning, the Valenzuela Fire District reported.

Fire Officer I Frederico Sablay said the fire broke out at 6:02 a.m. in a residential area in Block 5 Claudio Molina Street, Barangay Veinte Reales.

The first alarm was then raised at 6:05 a.m., followed by a second alarm seven minutes later.

The fire district declared the fire under control at 7:15 a.m. and was totally put out at 7:58 a.m.

Sablay said one of the residents in the area, Rolando Argote Sr., 56, was killed in the fire.

Sablay also said that 17 houses were damaged and about P350,000 worth of property went up in smoke.

The cause of fire, however, is still being investigated./ac