Fire destroys 69-year-old ancestral home in Sta. Mesa

MANILA, Philippines — A fire that hit a residential area in Sta. Mesa, Manila, reduced a 69-year-old ancestral home to rubble in an hour.

“My father built this house,” said Marissa Tamayo, 66, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “And now there’s not even a shadow to remind me of it.”

The cause of fire has yet to be determined but it started at 9:38 a.m. in the stockroom of the Fortrich family, who lived just in front of the Tamayo home. It reached third alarm before a fire out was declared an hour after. No one was hurt.  At least P500,000 in property losses have been estimated so far.

Tamayo said her father built the wooden house on Guada Canal near V. Mapa with his own hands in 1946 – before she was born. It’s where she and her two other siblings grew up.

The Tamayo siblings and their parents eventually moved out and left it to a caretaker, who manned the house until fire tore it down on Christmas eve.

“I was not here when it [fire] happened. They just told me that our neighbor’s house was on fire so I rushed here,” she said.

Tamayo said the fire originated from the house in front of theirs, which was occupied by the Fortrich family. Initially, no one thought that the Tamayo ancestral home would be damaged. “They said it was not affected by fire so we didn’t panic that much,” she said.

But when the flames have been put out, Tamayo and their caretaker were surprised to see the 69-year-old house gone.

“I don’t really feel nostalgic about it but, hey, it’s my father who built this,” she said.  SFM