Fire guts hospital, 2 houses in Parañaque

MANILA, Philippines - A six-hour fire destroyed the South Super Highway Medical Center and two nearby houses in Parañaque City yesterday.

Parañaque firefighter Cristobal Mannes said photojournalist Ali Vicoy and two others were trapped in the hospital when thick smoke shrouded the building as they were taking photographs.

Authorities have yet to figure out what caused the blaze but it reportedly started at the house of Reynaldo Dizon at around 6 a.m. and immediately spread to the hospital’s x-ray and dialysis department.

Patients were evacuated from the hospital as the fire spread. The blaze, which reached the fourth alarm, was put out at past noon. Property damage was pegged at P15 million.