Alleged drug addict causes Tondo fire

A suspected drug addict was beaten by his neighbors for allegedly causing a fire in Tondo, Manila that left six persons injured on Saturday night.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Christian Bag-Id, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) ground commander, said the blaze started on the second floor of the house of Aldrine Manansala, 22, along Launasa street at around 8:30 p.m.

The flames immediately spread to adjacent homes.

According to the residents, Manansala left a lighted candle when he went out of the house to look for his wife.

Hit relatives said it was an accident, but admitted that he was formerly hooked on drugs.

But another relative said Manansala deliberately set the house on fire.

Among the victims were Nenita Lardizabal, 64; Gerald Brown, 38; Imee Perayre, 20; Liezel Mislos, 42, and Manuel Corpuz, 64.

Arson probers said the fire rendered at least 150 families homeless.

According to the BFP, the fire reached the fourth alarm before it was declared under control shortly after midnight yesterday.

Superintendent Gene Licud, chief of the Manila Police District Station 7, said police arrived in the area after being informed of the incident and saw two men fighting on the street at the height of the fire.

Police Officer 1 Ruben de la Cruz said a relative reported that Manansala left the scene carrying a can of spray paint and a lighter, which he used to set the house on fire.

Manansala was taken to the Tayuman police community precinct for questioning, but probers said he would be released if nobody files a complaint against him.

Damage to property was placed at P1 million.

In Pateros, a woman died and two others were hurt when a fire struck a residential area on Saturday.

Authorities said they have yet to identify the fatality whose charred remains were recovered more than two hours after the fire.

Injured were Mike Angelo Poncio, 23, and Alfredo Maglolo, 73.

The fire destroyed around 30 houses, according to the BFP.

In Las Piñas City, a police officer cheated death after his car caught fire.

Chief Inspector Alfred Cerde- na, 42, assigned with the Philippine National Police Cyber Crime Group at Camp Crame, was traversing River Drive in Barangay Pamplona 1 in his Mitsubishi Adventure when it burst into flames.

The incident caused traffic jams in the area. –