Camanava inferno

A six-month-old boy was burned beyond recognition while some 450 families lost their homes in two separate fires over the weekend in Navotas and Caloocan City, respectively.

The first reported fire broke out at around 2:30 p.m. Sunday along Banana Street, Sta. Quiteria in Caloocan City where about 40 houses were burned down and some 100 families rendered homeless.

Chief Inspector Agapito Nacario, city fire marshal, said some P2 million worth of property was destroyed in the one-and-a-half hour fire which was put under control by 4 p.m.

At about 3 p.m., another blaze hit a slum area along Road 10, North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS) in Navotas, leaving one person dead and more than 350 families homeless.

SFO4 Zaldy Bajado of the Navotas Fire Station identified the fatality as Agible "Nonoy" Romano. His charred body was found in the ashes of what used to be their shanty.

Bajado said the seven-and-a-half-hour fire destroyed more than 200 houses. Arson probers initially placed the damage at P5 million.

Authorities said thick smoke was first noticed at the shanty occupied by Alma Romano, 27, by the baby’s mother. The fire was initially blamed on an unattended candle placed at the altar in the shanty.

Bajado said the mother, trying to take advantage of the free time on her hands as her baby slept, left him alone to buy some food at a nearby store. Moments later, smoke was seen billowing from her shanty. The fire quickly spread to adjacent houses divided only by makeshift walls.

Meanwhile, the Navotas government led by Mayor Toby Tiangco rushed to the scene to provide for the immediate needs of the victims in the form of food and temporary shelter.