Strong winds and torrential heavy rains spawned by Typhoon “Glenda” on Wednesday failed to prevent five fires from breaking out in Navotas, Valenzuela, Marikina and Quezon City.
The first one was reported on Manigo Street in UP Village, Quezon City, at 3:12 a.m. It reached the fourth alarm before it was put out at 4:41 a.m.
Quezon City firemen were still battling the first blaze when another one broke out, this time in Nawasa Line Area 7. It started at 3:49 a.m. and spread quickly among the houses in the area, resulting in the evacuation of 50 families.
The fire was finally placed under control at 5:20 a.m. as the affected residents sought shelter at the covered court of Barangay Holy Spirit.
At 9:25 a.m., firefighters rushed to Gen. Mariano Ordonez Street in Marikina Heights, Marikina City after a blaze was reported in the warehouse of a fast-food chain.
Supt. Marcos Valen of the city’s fire department told Inquirer.net that there were no deaths or injuries as a result of the 20-minute fire that hit the Wendy’s Hamburger warehouse.
The cause of the blaze, which an unidentified staff member claimed started in the IT and training office, remained under investigation, Valen said.
Another female employee who was identified as an executive got angry when an Inquirer.net writer tried to get a comment from the company and more information about the fire.
The first to respond to the report of a fire was a team of volunteers led by Barangay Chair Edwin Adigue. When asked why a food warehouse was located in a largely residential area, Adigue said this was based on a city ordinance that classified Marikina Heights as a residential-commercial section.
Based on the latest census of the National Statistics Office, there are about 38,000 homes in the Marikina Heights area, he added.
At 10 a.m., a fire razed a taho factory on Narcisa Street in Canumay East, Valenzuela City. There were no casualties reported.
More than an hour later, another one broke out in a fishnet warehouse in Navotas City.
The fire that leveled the two-story warehouse on Lapu-Lapu Avenue corner Bangus Street in Barangay NBBS started at 11:28 a.m. It was put out two hours later but not before it destroyed tons of fish equipment like fishnets and fishing tubs.
“We still have to find out what caused the fire and we will have to talk to the owner for the estimated cost of damage,” Navotas fire marshal Chief Insp. Paul Pili said.
He added that there was a possibility that it started from an electric generator. With Erika Sauler and Inquirer.net