20 families affected by Tondo fire, says fire officer

MANILA, Philippines—Roughly 20 families were displaced in the fire that hit a community of informal settlers in Manila Thursday afternoon, a city fire officer said.

Case investigator, Senior Fire Officer 2 Emmanuel Gaspar, said around 11 houses on Gate 20, Area H, Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila were gutted by fire that was tapped in at 12:11 p.m.

He said they were verifying reports that the fire was caused by a child playing match sticks.

He said the fire, which destroyed around P50,000-worth of properties, reached third alarm before it was completely put out at 12:36 p.m.

No one was reported hurt in the fire.