Fire hits shantytown near Makati Medical Center

MANILA, Philippines—A two-hour fire in Makati City burned down hundreds of shanties near the Makati Medical Center in the financial district of Makati City Thursday morning.

The blaze, which started around 10:25 a.m., swept through a shantytown in the Botanical Compound between Amorsolo and Urban streets. It quickly reached general alarm level by 10:44 a.m., the highest alarm status. The fire was declared out at 12:59 p.m.

No casualties and injuries were reported, Makati City Fire Marshall Supt Ricardo Perdigon told reporters on the scene.

Several blasts heard from the fire area were due to exploding Liquefied Petroleum Gas tanks, he said. About a third of the one thousand shanties in the area were razed.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire, Perdigon added.

Meanwhile, another fire was reported also on Wednesday along Bagtikan street, Barangay San Antonio, Makati City.

Two people were rescued there and immediately brought to the hospital.

The fire reached Task Force Alpha status before being put under control, Perdigon said.

First posted 11:00 am | Thursday, July 11th, 2013