3 hurt in Sampaloc fire

A one-hour fire reportedly caused by an unattended candle razed some 30 houses in a residential neighborhood in Sampaloc, Manila before dawn yesterday.

Firefighters recorded three persons slightly injured during the fire, which reached the fifth alarm.

The fire started at the second floor of a two-story house occupied by Willie Angeles on Ma. Clara street at around 4 a.m.

According to arson investigator Wilson Tana, a lit candle had toppled and started the blaze. The entire neighborhood had a power outage that started past 9 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning.

Residents said they saw smoke coming from the second floor of Angeles’ house before the entire floor was engulfed in fire.

Several loud explosions, presumably coming from ignited liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks, were observed during the one-hour fire.

Those injured were identified as Jonjon Fajardo, 40; Ramil Reyes, 41; and Richard San Jose, 35. They sustained slight burns on their bodies while trying to save their belongings.

The fire was placed under control past 5 a.m. Damage to property was initially placed at P2 million.   – Nestor Etolle