Tenant killed, 3 firemen injured in condo blaze

A 58-year-old woman was killed while three firemen were hurt when fire caused by an exploding LPG tank hit a four-storey, condo-type public housing building in Mandaluyong City the other night.

At least 14 families were displaced by the blaze which caused damage to property estimated at P2 million.

The fatality, identified as Adelina Francisco, was trapped inside her unit at the Sambahayan Condominium located on Makaturing street in Barangay Barangka Itaas.

Fire Officer 3 Ramon Enquera, of the Mandaluyong Fire Department, sustained minor burns in the right arm and a laceration in the face while battling the blaze. Two others — Ernesto Gurmate and Ireneo Bungay — sustained abrasions.

They are now being treated at the Mandaluyong City Medical Center. Arson investigators said at around 9:05 p.m., tenants heard a loud explosion from Room 407 of the condominium’s Building 5. The room was immediately engulfed by flames as a result of the leaking gas.

Strong winds fanned the flames to nearby rooms.

"The fire spread so quickly, leaving residents no time to save their personal belongings," arson investigator SFO3 Abelino Caya said.

He said the bedridden Francisco was left behind in the panic and confusion.

"Her neighbors said they forgot all about her," Caya pointed out.

Carrying oxygen tanks and other protective gear, the Mandaluyong firemen rushed to the fourth floor in an attempt to rescue Francisco, but it was too late.

The three firemen sustained injuries while battling the blaze for four hours.

The entire fourth floor of the condominium building was destroyed, but the lower floors were not damaged.

The fire reached the highest alarm, or Task Force Bravo, and was put under control at 1:12 a.m.