3 dead as fires hit Tondo, Binondo
Three people died in two separate fires that hit Tondo and Binondo in Manila since Wednesday.
Venus Sarmiento Liqid, around 30 to 35 years old, and Althea Michelline Mae Liqid Diestro, 3, were trapped in the fire in Tondo, according to Manila Fire Department (MFD) chief marshal Superintendent Antonio Razal Jr.
The blaze, which lasted almost three hours, reportedly started from the second floor of Herminia Hipolito’s house on F. Varona street at around 3:11 p.m. on Wednesday.
It reached second alarm around 15 minutes later and was put out just before 6 p.m. after it destroyed around 14 houses, a report from the MFD said.
Meanwhile, the charred body of Pacita Shao was found in Unit 805 of the Binondo Terrace condominium, which was hit by a fire yesterday morning.
The blaze started from an open stove at Unit 804, beside the victim’s unit, at around 11:49 a.m., according to the building administrator Noel Quintalan.
It spread to the seventh and ninth floors of the 12-story building, located along Alvarado street in Binondo, and reached fifth alarm at around 12:21 p.m.
Authorities have yet to declare the fire was put out as of press time.
Around 5,000 residents of the condominium, mostly Filipino-Chinese, were rescued from the blaze. Some of them were evacuated to the open court of Barangay 292.
Firefighters, meanwhile, complained about locked units in the building that hampered efforts to put out the fire.
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada immediately mobilized all emergency units of the city to assist firefighters battling the blaze in Binondo. He also alerted the city’s social welfare office to lead relief operations for the affected residents.