5 families left homeless in Christmas Day fire

MANILA, Philippines — Five families welcomed Christmas Day on a tragic note, after a fire struck their houses in Santa Mesa district, Manila, in the wee hours of Wednesday.

The blaze started at the house of Joy Galzote in Barangay 625 at 12:58 a.m. and quickly reached the third alarm at 1:05 a.m., according to reports.

Insp. John Joseph Jalique of the Manila Fire Department said residents in the area were hosting a party on Bacood Street when they noticed smoke billowing out of the back of Galzote’s home.

The affected families were able to evacuate immediately, but Jalique said that two dogs were killed after they were trapped in one of the burning houses.

Authorities pegged the damage to property at around P300,000, with no other fatalities or injuries recorded.

Jalique added that the house of Galzote was destroyed in the fire while surrounding structures were only damaged.

Responding firemen were able to put out the blaze around 2:10 a.m. with the cause still under investigation.—Meg Adonis