Valenzuela blaze leaves 30 families homeless

MANILA, Philippines - At least 11 houses were destroyed when a two-hour fire, reportedly caused by a fallen kerosene lamp, broke out at a residential area in Valenzuela City Saturday night.

Fire Officer 2 John Noel Sentillas said they received a report of an ongoing fire along Libis street in Barangay Canumay at around 9:58 p.m.

“Our initial investigation showed that the fire was caused by an unattended gas lamp,” Sentillas said.

The house of Ceferino Tenioso, where the fire started, was already engulfed in flames when the firefighters arrived. The blaze destroyed 10 more houses before it was put out at around 11:50 p.m., Sentillas said.

The fire left around 30 families homeless. Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian ordered the city’s social welfare personnel to provide assistance to the fire victims, who were temporarily sheltered in Barangay Canumay’s covered court.