Man killed; wife, sons injured in Manila fire

MANILA, Philippines – A father was killed while his wife and two sons were injured when portions of their house in Manila were gutted by fire before dawn Friday, a city fire officers said.
Senior Fire Officer 3 John Joseph Jalique, Manila Fire department arson investigator, identified the fatality as Andrew Tang, who was killed when the second and third floors of their four-storey house at 2512 Leonor Rivera corner Blumentritt Street in Sta. Cruz, Manila were hit by fire at 2:57 a.m.

Andrew was trapped at the second floor when he went down from the third floor and tried to put out the fire.

His wife, Kristine, and sons Kelvin at Aldrin, on the other hand, sustained slight injuries.

A radio report said the three almost got trapped as some of the exit points in their house had padlocks.

“We still don’t know why, but they may have placed locks also for their safety,” Jalique said.

He said the three were rescued from the fire exit at the fourth floor.

Jalique said the fire might have been caused by an unattended electric fan which the family allegedly left open to dry clothes.
The fire reached fifth alarm before it was put out at 3:44 a.m.

Roughly P1 million worth of properties were destroyed, he said.