5 dead in All Saints’ weekend fires

MANILA, Philippines–Five people—including three children and their mother, and a man with autism—were killed in separate fires that broke out in Manila and Makati City during the weekend that coincided with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Troy John Bautista, 26, had already rushed out of the burning house early Sunday in Barangay (village) Pembo, Makati City, but he apparently panicked and ran back inside, his sister Joanna told investigators.

The charred body of Bautista, who was described as a person with autism, was later recovered after the 2 a.m. blaze that started inside the family bungalow on Paraiso Street.

Senior Insp. Tito Purgatorio of the Makati City Central Fire Station said the fire apparently started at the kitchen and was contained within an hour without affecting neighboring structures. Damage to property was placed at P100,000.

Another fire in Makati City destroyed two houses in neighboring Barangay East Rembo around 9 p.m. Saturday. Nobody was reported hurt and the blaze was believed to have been caused by a lighted candle on the altar of one of the homes.

In Binondo, Manila, a fire that began around 11 p.m. Saturday spread to at least 60 houses and killed 40-year-old Mary Grace Sudiam and her children Gerardo Jr., 5; Gerard, 3; and Gerardine, 1.

Four other residents were injured in the inferno that raged for about two hours, according to the Manila Fire Department.

The remains of the three children were recovered from the ruins of what was once their house on Muelle dela Industria Street in Del Pan. They were found huddled together in the wee hours of Sunday.

Mary Grace’s remains were found hours later.

Taken to the hospital were Violeta Acleta, 65, who complained of breathing problems; Mary Rose Reyes, 34, and Solito Blanco, 32, who suffered second-degree burns; and Carlito Guevarra, 41, who sustained a wound on his left leg.

Arson investigator SFO2 Edilberto Cruz said the Binondo fire started at a 3-story commercial building long abandoned by the owner but which informal settlers had occupied at the corner of Muelle de la Industria and Del Pan streets.

“It quickly spread through the neighboring houses made of light materials, including the Sudiams’. The father, a pedicab driver, was out working when the fire struck. We found him when the fire was over and he was already there searching for his loved ones at the site,” Cruz said in an interview.

The blaze reached the fifth alarm and proved difficult to contain as the firefighters were hindered by the narrow alleys.

Like in the East Rembo fire, the affected Binondo residents said a toppled candle in one of the houses might have started the blaze. Damage to property was estimated at P500,000.–Maricar B. Brizuela and Nathaniel R. Melican