Fire guts Manila apartments on Easter

Easter turned tragic for at least 10 families in Sampaloc, Manila, who lost their homes in an early morning fire on Sunday.

Authorities said the fire gutted four two-story apartment buildings on P. Campa Street, destroying some P2 million worth of property. Also damaged were the food stalls on the ground floor.

The fire started around 3:03 a.m. from the unit rented by Luis de Guzman and raged for about an hour before it was put under control, according to SFO3 John Joseph Jalique.

The cause remained under investigation, but residents suspected it to be an electrical malfunction inside De Guzman’s unit, Jalique said.

None of the residents were injured but a volunteer fireman, Michael Tan, suffered abrasions on the abdomen while trying to get inside one of the burning buildings.  Maricar B. Brizuela