6 killed as fire sweeps Parañaque building
Six persons died, four of them minors, in a five-hour fire that engulfed a threestory building in Parañaque City Wednesday afternoon.
The Southern Police District (SPD) director, Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario, identified the fatalities as Marie Joy De Jesus, 27, her two sons, Jomari Canaria, 6 and Daniel Luis Canaria,10; Anna Donna Agrasada, 26 and her two sons, Jake Amata,6 and Jake Angelo,3.
Two other persons, Abegail Calderon, 9, and Judy Bulaklak, 56, were injured and were brought to hospital with cuts in the body and effects of suffocation.
The injured were pronounced out of danger.
Apolinario said all the victims were residents of Bahay na Bato on Quirino Avenue, Barangay Tambo.
The fire started at the second floor of the building at about 4:17 p.m. and lasted until 9:45 p.m.
Apolinario said Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) investigators were confirming reports that the fire was caused by children playing with matches on the building’s second floor.
The bodies of the six victims were found on the ground floor. Investigators believed the flooring of the second floor collapsed during the fire.
The investigators said the fire spread throughout the building because of illegal electrical connection.
The building had been abandoned and had been taken over as living quarters by 400 families.
The damage from the fire was placed at R50,000.