Fires in Manila destroy P3.5M property

Two fires hit a school and a residential area in Manila within a span of 24 hours, destroying P3.5 million worth of property but leaving no deaths or injuries.

The first fire broke out at 9:49 p.m. on Wednesday in the six-story Atty. Tomas Cloma Sr. Building of the Philippine Maritime Institute Colleges on Burke Street in Sta. Cruz.

Senior Fire Officer 2 John Joseph Jalique, arson investigator of the Manila Fire District, told the Inquirer that the blaze gutted the building, which was made of light materials.

He said that the fire started in the mezzanine on the second floor although the cause had yet to be determined.

It reached the fourth alarm before firemen put it out at 11:25 p.m.

Jalique estimated the damage caused by the fire at around P3 million.

Almost 12 hours later, another fire broke out, this time on Havana Street in Sta. Ana.

According to Jalique, the blaze started in the second floor of the house owned by Aurora Nuque at 11:15 a.m. Thursday.

It later spread to 19 other houses, which were all made of light materials.

Jalique said the fire reached the fifth alarm before it was put out by responding firemen at 12:26 p.m.

Jalique placed the cost of damaged property at around P500,000.

Like the first fire, Jalique said that the cause of the blaze in Sta. Ana had yet to be determined by arson investigators.