Around P2 million worth of property damaged
By Earlo Bringas
Eagle News Service
One person was hurt and around P2 million worth of property was damaged in a fire that hit a residential area in Quezon City on Tuesday night.
The fire struck the two-storey house owned by Felipe Tabon in Barangay Botocan around 6 p.m.
It quickly spread to adjacent houses made of light materials, and reached the Task Force Bravo in almost an hour.
Fire Supt. Manuel Manuel, fire marshal, said firemen had a difficult time putting out the blaze because of the many people “interfering” in the area.
“Tumingin kami, pagtingin namin umaapoy na. Hindi na namin alam ang ano ko. Ibaba ko yung mga anak ko..Basta ibinaba na namin, nagpanic nalang kami,” Joan Medina, a resident, said.
The blaze, which was declared under control before 10 p.m., ended up destroying 150 houses, leaving around 500 families homeless.
Manuel said the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring that was the result of an illegal connection in Tabon’s house.
He said this was despite the fact that prior to the incident, the Manila Electric Company had removed all illegal connections in the area.
“Paalala lamang sa ating mga kababayan na mag-ingat po tayo. Yung isang pagkakamali e damay po lahat ng ating mga kapitbahay,” Manuel said.
