2 dead, 300 families left homeless in QC, Munti fires

Two fires that broke out on Monday left a 58-year-old woman and her stepdaughter dead in Quezon City, and 300 families homeless in Muntinlupa City.

Quezon City fire marshal Supt. Jesus Fernandez said Dorothy Guiang tried to save her stepdaughter, 34-year-old Nina Santillan, when their house at 3 Hillman St. in Barangay West Fairview caught fire.

Guiang was cooking around 4 p.m. on Monday when the flames ignited a nearby pile of carton boxes that her partner, Prudente Santillan, had collected, Fernandez added.

The couple managed to get out of the house but Guiang went back for Nina who had a mental disability. By this time, the flames had spread to other parts of the house, trapping the two women in a room.

The fire was placed under control at 8:29 p.m. and put out at 8:40 p.m.

In Muntinlupa, a fire of still undetermined origin started on a vacant lot but eventually destroyed 85 houses, affecting around 300 families.  FO3 Jomar Camacho said the blaze started around 10 p.m. at Block 35, Soldiers Hills, in Barangay Putatan, quickly spreading to nearby houses made of light materials.

It took three hours before it was put out by firemen who had difficulty entering the area because of the narrow alleys and dangling cables.  Damage was estimated at P5 million. Erika Sauler and Maricar B. Brizuela