Parañaque blaze leaves 2 kids dead

A three-year-old girl and her one-year-old brother died in a fire that razed 30 houses in Parañaque City shortly after midnight yesterday.

Arson investigators identified the victims as Bernadette and Kurt Gienard Bautista, residents of the Rodriguez Compound located along Ninoy Aquino Avenue in Barangay Sto. Niño, Parañaque.

Senior Fire Officer 4 Arturo de Castro said the fire, which reached the third alarm, started at 12:30 a.m.

He said the fire spread to nearby houses, made of wood and other light materials.

Four firetrucks from the Parañaque police station rushed to the scene. Additional firetrucks belonging to the Chinese Volunteers Brigade were also sent to the area to help put out the blaze.

A fire-out was declared at around 2:04 a.m.

Initial investigation showed that an unattended candle in one of the shanties caused the fire. – Rhodina Villanueva