Parañaque blaze kills 3

MANILA, Philippines - Three persons including a seven-year-old boy died when a fire hit a bungalow-type house in Parañaque City yesterday afternoon.

Senior Inspector Leonardo Tutu, Parañaque Deputy Fire Marshall, said Eduardo Gonzales Jr., 62, together with son Efren Gonzales, 45, and grandson Efren Gonzales Jr., were sleeping in their respective rooms when fire broke in their house located along Gem Street in Barangay Moonwalk, Parañaque around 2:40 p.m.

Tutu said the victims were trapped inside the house and it was too late for them to rush outside and save themselves. Arson investigators of the Parañaque Fire Station said the fire only reached the first alarm. A fire-out was declared at about 3:20 p.m. after five city and several volunteer firetrucks rushed to the scene.

Bernardino Dimapilis, administrator of Barangay Moonwalk, said they heard the victims asking for help but no one could get inside anymore to rescue them since the the fire immediately spread all over the house.

Tutu estimated the worth of property destroyed in the incident, to have reached some P3.5 million. He added a follow-up investigation is still being conducted to determine what caused the fire.