4 dead in Marikina, Tondo fires

MANILA, Philippines — Four persons died after fires broke out in Marikina and Tondo, Manila yesterday.

In Marikina, the remains of the fatalities, two women aged 18 and 23 and a 55-year-old man, were retrieved by firefighters after the blaze was extinguished at 8:44 a.m.

Three persons, including a four-year-old boy, were treated by responders for first-degree burns and abrasions.

The fire started at a house in Barangay Concepcion Uno at past 8 a.m., according to the Bureau of Fire Protection.

The BFP said eight houses were destroyed, displacing 13 families or 80 people.

Arson investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire, which destroyed P100,000 worth of property.

Mayor Marcelino Teodoro ordered the city social welfare and development office to help the affected residents, who are taking shelter at an evacuation site.

Eighteen firetrucks and four ambulances responded.

In Manila, an elderly woman died after she was trapped in a house that caught fire in Tondo yesterday.

Firefighters recovered the remains of the 83-year-old victim after a mopping-up operation.

Eight families were left homeless after the fire, the BFP said. –  Ghio Ong