Fires hit Manila

An infant and an elderly person reportedly perished in a fire which hit a squatters’ area in Tondo, while another fire razed a three-story residential house in Sampaloc, both in Manila, yesterday.

The first fire struck at a house on Perla street in Tondo shortly before noon. The fire quickly spread to adjacent shanties made of light materials. At least 50 houses were affected before the blaze was finally placed under control an hour later.

The fire reached the fifth alarm.

Sketchy reports reaching arson chief Fire Senior Inspector Adan Bithao showed an infant was left in one of the burned shanties at the height of the fire. However, the body of the infant has not been recovered.

"It’s normal for the body of the infant to completely disappear during intense heat since the bones and flesh were still very brittle, hence no charred body was recovered," explained Bithao.

However, during mopping up operation a charred body belonging to an elderly person was recovered inside one of the razed houses.

Arson probers are still determining the identity of the two victims.

Minutes later, a fire struck a three-story residential and commercial house along Geronimo street in Sampaloc.

The fire was quickly contained before it razed adjoining houses, according to Bithao.

The cause of the two fires was still under investigation, while damage to property was still being assessed as of press time. – Nestor Etolle