2 seniors killed in Malabon blaze; fireman hurt by panicky residents

SOOTY SALVAGE Malabon City residents on Wednesday pick through the debris for reusable items following the eight-hour fire that displaced 700 families. AP

MANILA, Philippines—Two senior citizens were killed in an eight-hour fire that started Tuesday night in a slum area in Malabon City, where some panicking residents turned violent and wounded a fire volunteer in their bid to seize control of fire hoses.

The blaze engulfed some 350 houses in Barangay Tonsuya and claimed the lives of Virginia Ytac, 62, and Agustin Erespe, 80. Investigators said they appeared to have died of suffocation, with Erespe’s body found in a drum.

Fire volunteers Michael Tubalinal, 41, and Edel Santos, 42, sustained injuries and required hospital treatment, according to Fire Officer 2 Aren Joy Lampa of the Malabon fire station.

Tubalinal was hit with a bottle by a resident while Santos was knocked off his feet by a sudden blast of water from a fire truck, Lampa said in an interview on Wednesday.

“It was so chaotic last night because the residents were hurting our firemen and volunteers, that’s why some of them had to be pulled out of the area,” Lampa said. The commotion plus the narrow entry points were the main reasons why the fire lasted eight hours, she said.

Meanwhile, two smaller fires broke out in Quezon City Wednesday morning.

Six families lost their homes on Diamond Street, Sta. Perpetua Village in Tandang Sora, where an hourlong fire reportedly caused by an electrical malfunction started 1:05 a.m. at the house of Jovy Deswasico, an official said.

The other fire gutted the house of Fe Aurora Franco on Straus Street, Ideal Subdivision on Barangay Commonwealth. The 7 a.m. blaze was reportedly caused by an electric stove that had been on for hours and was left unattended, said Quezon City fire marshal Supt. Jesus Fernandez.