2 fires hit QC

MANILA, Philippines - A television that overheated and an unattended candle reportedly caused two separate fires in Quezon City that left two people injured and more than 150 families homeless.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Jose Felipe Arreza said 50 houses were gutted in a slum community in Barangay Bagbag, Novaliches during a blaze that happened Sunday afternoon, while five houses were destroyed in another fire at dawn yesterday in Barangay N.S. Amoranto.

Arreza said the Philippine Red Cross reported an unidentified man was electrocuted during the fire in Bagbag while Mandy Reyes, 67, suffered first degree burns on her nape and right arm in N.S. Amoranto.

Arreza said around P3 million worth of properties were destroyed in Barangay Bagbag, where some 150 families lost their homes. He said flames in Barangay Bagbag originated on a second floor room of the two-story house of Dennis Yoson.

Residents in the area blamed an overheated television set in the Yoson house they said might have caused the flames at around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. It reached up to Task Force Charlie until firefighters placed the fire under control at around 4:25 p.m. and put out the flames at around 5:15 p.m. the same day.

Arreza said an estimated P1 million worth of properties were lost in Barangay N.S. Amoranto, where more than five families were rendered homeless.

The fire began just before 4 a.m. on the ground floor of the two-story house of Susan Reyes. Arreza said the Reyes residence already had its electricity connection cut and the family had been using candles during the night.

Firefighters were able to control it around 4:35 a.m. and declared the fire out 10 minutes later.