Tondo blaze leaves 400 families homeless

More than 400 families were rendered homeless after a six-hour fire broke hit a residential area at the boundary of Sta. Cruz and Tondo, Manila the other night.

Fire Officer Guillermo Fermalino of the Manila Arson Investigation Office said no one was killed or hurt in the fire, which razed 150 houses along Pindalo street in Tondo.

"We heard reports that four persons, including a girl, perished in the fire, but our investigation showed no evidence of such claims," Fermalino said.

Probers are also looking into reports that the fire started after a fluorescent light exploded inside one of the houses in the slum area.

He said the roads and alleys in the area were very narrow, making it hard for the fire-fighters to immediately contain the blaze.

"Our trucks couldn’t fit in the narrow alleys of the area," Fermalino said.

Fire officers were able to control the blaze at midnight, and declared it out at 3:19 a.m., six hours after it broke out.

Probers estimated the damage of the blaze to be around P2 million.

Affected families have been evacuated to the Gen. M. Hizon Elementary School on Abad Santos Avenue.

The city’s social welfare department has been conducting relief operations at the evacuation center.

"We have been providing food, clothing and medical assistance to the victims since Sunday, and this will continue until Wednesday," one official said.

The city health department is also scheduled to conduct a medical mission at the evacuation center. – Edu Punay