Three fires broke out in Quezon City and Pasig from Sunday afternoon until Monday morning, leaving more than 150 families homeless and destroying around P6 million worth of property.
The first one was reported at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. It started at the second floor of the house owned by Dennis Yoson on Anonas Street in Barangay (village) Bagbag, Novaliches.
Arson investigator Senior Fire Officer 2 Jose Felipe Arreza said that according to residents, the fire was caused by an unattended television set although they were still verifying the information.
The flames spread to other houses in the shanty area, destroying around 50 before firefighters managed to put out the blaze at 5:15 p.m.
A man was reported injured by the Philippine National Red Cross while more than 150 families lost their houses.
Fire probers estimated the damage to property at around P3 million.
A few hours later, another fire broke out in Quezon City, this time, in Barangay NS Amoranto, leaving 67-year-old Mandy Reyes with first-degree burns in the nape and right arm.
Arreza said the blaze began at the ground floor of a two-story house at the corner of Luna and Bonifacio streets at 3:58 a.m. Monday.
The owner of the house, Susan, is Reyes’ sister, he added.
Arreza said they were checking reports that the fire may have been caused by a lit candle because the electricity to the house had recently been cut.
The flames spread to four more houses before it was put out nearly an hour later. The damage to property was placed at around P1 million.
In Pasig City, an hour-long fire struck the garages of two trucking firms before dawn Monday.
No one was reported injured although the blaze consumed P2 million worth of property.
Arson investigators said the fire started at 1:51 a.m. in the garage of Real Time Movers on Evangelista Street, Barangay Santolan.
Within five minutes, it reached the fourth alarm, causing some apprehension among firefighters that the trucks, which had caught on fire, would explode and cause the flames to spread to a nearby neighborhood.
Case investigator Fire Officer 2 Robert Maravilla told the Inquirer that although the fire did not spread to a row of houses, it crossed over to the garage of another trucking company, Load ’Em Up, before it was put out at 3 a.m. The cause was still being determined.
Four trucks of Real Time Movers were destroyed, as well as six more owned by Load ’Em Up, Maravilla said.