A DEVASTATING fire in Barangay 81, Caloocan City, claimed the lives of a person with a disability (PWD) and a teenage girl on Wednesday, May 14.
The blaze, which broke out around 5:00 PM, reached the second alarm and took five hours to extinguish, requiring the deployment of 18 fire trucks.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is investigating faulty electrical wiring as a possible cause. Fire Senior Inspector Elyzer Ruben Lea of BFP-Caloocan noted the challenges posed by the area’s informal settlements. “In areas with illegal settlers, overloaded electricity is usually the cause.
Witnesses say it was an illegal connection, but this is still under investigation,” Lea explained. He added, “The challenging part for us was dealing with people who were not cooperating; our crowd control efforts were hampered by people entering the area.”
The body of a 52-year-old man was discovered around 1:00 AM Thursday, pinned beneath a bicycle. His niece, Len Guerrero, explained that her uncle, who had difficulty walking, was trapped by the fire. The body of a 16-year-old girl was found later that morning, around 6:00 AM.
Five individuals sustained injuries, mostly from jumping from burning structures; one fire volunteer suffered an electric shock.
The fire left approximately 70 families (90 individuals) homeless, with around 50 houses destroyed, resulting in an estimated P300,000 in damages.
Some displaced families are temporarily sheltered at the Barangay 78 covered court and St. Peter Parish, while others are staying with relatives. The incident highlights the vulnerability of informal settler communities to fire hazards and underscores the need for improved safety measures and better housing conditions.
metrosundaily
