Volunteer firefighter hurt in Quiapo blaze

MANILA, Philippines – A volunteer firefighter was injured in a four-hour fire that broke out in a commercial building in San Miguel, Quiapo, Manila before dawn yesterday.

Rodel Camilo, who was among the first to respond to the blaze at the Jaxhing Philippine Commercial and Industrial Corp. building, suffered a wound in his right hand and had difficulty breathing.

According to initial reports, the fire, of still undetermined origin, started at around 1 a.m. The building’s owner, Anthony Que, said he was awakened by a noise and found his warehouse already burning.

Firefighters said the blaze reached fourth alarm before it was put out shortly before 5 a.m., but not before the building burned down and an undetermined number of China-made motorcycles destroyed.

Que refused to say how much he lost in the fire, but investigators placed it at more than P1 million.

According to the Bureau of Fire Protection, security guards assigned in the building initially heard a loud explosion just before the fire broke out.  – Rey Galupo, Sandy Araneta