A 7-year-old boy died in a fire that struck a community of informal settlers at Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City on Tuesday morning.
Quezon City fire marshal, Senior Supt. Jaime Ramirez, said that Jaren Repangcol was the city’s first fire casualty for the year.
Around 50 families were displaced by the blaze that started in the boy’s two-story house on Litex Road at 3:55 a.m. Authorities estimated the damage to property at around P250,000.
The fire reached the third alarm before it was put out around 5:30 a.m.
SFO3 Ronald Valeña of the city’s fire department said that Repangcol and his 6-year-old brother were asleep when the blaze started in their house that was made of light materials.
Valeña told the Inquirer that at that time, the boys’ parents were at a dump near the Payatas area.
While Repangcol’s younger brother managed to get out of their burning house, the victim was not as lucky.
Valeña said the fire might have been caused by an electrical short circuit.
The victim’s aunt, Maricar Repangcol, said that there had been a brownout before the fire.
When power was restored, a large explosion was heard followed by sparks inside the victim’s house, she said.
On Monday evening, another fire razed 60 houses in a residential area at Barangay Talayan Riverside, Valeña said.