300 families rendered homeless by blaze

The homes of almost 300 families were lost in a two-hour fire in a squatters’ area in Barangay La Paz, Makati City, last Sunday night.

Fire Marshall Arsenio Tabajonda of the Makati Fire Department reported that the blaze started at around 7 p.m. in the vicinity of Metropolitan Avenue Extension and Mola street in Barangay La Paz.

The fire reached Task Force Delta level but was extinguished almost three hours later at around 9:42 p.m.

According to some of the residents, the fire started in the house of Lily Soriano which was being repaired.

The residents claimed that workers switched-off the power in the house of Soriano and were using a candle. It was presumed that the candle was accidentally tipped over, causing the fire.

The blaze quickly spread to the neighboring houses which easily burned because of the predominantly wooden materials used.

Makati City Mayor Elenita Binay ordered Tabajonda to conduct an inspection of all commercial and residential establishments within the city to determine their present condition. – Marvin Sy