Candle on plastic cabinet caused Mandaluyong fire

TOO HOT TO HANDLE Young residents of Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City do their bit to put out the fire that burned down some 300 houses on Friday. Barely a month ago, a huge fire hit the community, with homeless families still camped out in makeshift shelters. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

The fire that hit a residential area in Mandaluyong City on Friday, leaving one person injured and displacing around 300 families, was caused by a candle left on top of a plastic cabinet by a 6-year-old girl.

According to Chief Insp. Nahum Tarroza, Mandaluyong fire marshal, the young girl was a relative of the owner of the house on Correctional Road, Barangay Addition Hills, where the blaze started around 7 a.m. Friday.

“The candle fell on the cabinet so the cabinet was the first to burn. Since the house was made of light materials, the [flames] quickly engulfed the house,” Tarroza said.

According to a report reaching the Mandaluyong fire department, the blaze reached Task Force Charlie and immediately spread to adjacent houses.

Tarroza said that firemen had a difficult time getting to the area, which is beside the Correctional Institute for Women, because the streets leading to it were narrow.

In fact, responding fire fighters had to use smaller fire trucks or “pumpers” to get to the burning houses.

“When we also got there, some residents who were taking out their possessions just placed these in the middle of the road, [making it difficult for us to walk],” Tarroza said.

All in all, around 100 houses or around P2 million worth of property were damaged in

the fire that was put out at 9:45 a.m, he added.

Although there were no fatalities, a resident identified as Ronaldo Nolasco had to be rushed to a nearby hospital for a head wound caused by falling broken glass.

“He was hit in the head. It’s a minor injury but there was a lot of blood,” Tarroza said.

According to the fire official, the 300 families left homeless by the fire were temporarily staying at a nearby basketball court and a multipurpose hall.

Tarroza described the affected area—owned by a businessman—as fire-prone, saying it had been hit by blazes several times in the past few years.

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