Four people, including a 7-year-old girl and her 10-month-old brother, were killed in a predawn fire that hit a community of informal settlers in Barangay (village) Pinyahan, Quezon City, and left at least 1,500 families homeless.
Chief Superintendent Bobby Baruelo, Quezon City fire marshal, identified three of the victims as Jaypee Baflor, 24; Ariane Joy Alcala, 7; and her brother, Alfred John, 10 months.
4th victim still unidentified
The fourth victim, according to Baruelo, is a male and has yet to be identified.
His body was found in the house where the blaze reportedly started, he said.
The fire was first reported at 1:18 a.m. Sunday. It reached the third alarm before it was placed under control at 4:20 a.m.
It was finally put out at 6:25 a.m., leading to clearing operations during which the charred bodies of the victims were found beneath the ruins of their houses.
Baruelo said the fire broke out in a densely packed community of informal settlers on NIA Road.
It started at the second floor of a house owned by Ruth Ascencio and then went on to destroy around 500 houses which were mostly made of light materials.
At press time, its cause has yet to be determined although based on the results of an initial investigation conducted by arson probers, the house has not been lived in for some time.
With no one watching over the house, it was turned into a hangout by young people living in the area, he added.
This was backed up by Pearl Joy Alcala, the mother of the children who were killed in the fire.
Pearl herself sustained severe burns and was taken to East Avenue Medical Center where she remains confined.
She told the police that the house where the fire broke out was frequently used by teenagers as a place for hanging out or engaging in drinking sprees.
Because there was no electricity in the house, the young people used candles at night, she added.
According to her, when the fire broke out, she and her three children were asleep.
Survivor’s tale
Roused by screams coming from their neighbors, she said she quickly grabbed her children to get them out of the house.
However, burning pieces of wood fell on them and some of these blocked the door, making it difficult for them to escape.
In the end, only she and her 4-year-old daughter survived by jumping out of the window.
Baruelo estimated the damage to property at around P7 million.