6 hurt in Paco fire

Six persons were hurt in a fire that hit the Paco district in Manila yesterday.

Sent to Ospital ng Maynila for treatment were Horacio Castillo, who suffered a fractured leg; his wife Connie; their children Horacio III and Nicole, and housemaids Josie and Lilia, who suffered bruises, according to arson investigator SFO1 Wilson Tana.

All were occupants of a three-story residential and commercial building located at the corner of J. Nakpil and Linao streets in Paco.

The fire started at around 3 a.m. at a room on second floor of the building occupied by the Castillo family. Firefighters rescued the family and housemaids, who were trapped inside the master’s bedroom.

The fire was put out at 5 a.m. after reaching the fifth alarm.

Arson probers would neither confirm nor deny reports that the fire was caused by defective Christmas lights.

Meanwhile, an hour-long fire also struck a squatters’ area in Tondo before noon yesterday.

The fire started at 11 a.m. at a house along Jacinto Roxas street near Smokey Mountain. There were no reports of injury

Arson probers are still determining the number of houses razed in the fire which was placed under control at around noon after reaching the fifth alarm.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.