1 dead, 1 wounded in residential fire in Philippine capital

Manila, Oct 19 (IANS) A 10-year-old girl died in a fire that tore through a densely populated community and displaced around 70 families in the Philippine capital, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.

The bureau said the girl was fast asleep inside her house when the fire broke out in Pasay City before midnight Friday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Her body was found under a burned roof early Saturday.

The victim's mother was working in a nearby food stall when the fire broke out. There was no information on where her father was at the time of the fire.

A 44-year-old male resident suffered a laceration on the left shoulder.

The bureau said that the fire quickly spread through houses made from light materials and with narrow alleyways. It took firefighters more than one hour to extinguish the fire.

An investigation is underway to find out the cause of the blaze. The displaced residents were temporarily housed in a local school.

On October 14, three children died after being trapped inside their house that caught fire in the Philippine capital, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.

The bureau said the siblings, aged 10, seven, and five, were asleep in a room when the fire broke out on Tuesday morning in Quezon City and quickly spread through the residential community.

The children's parents were not at home when the fire broke out. They were left under the care of their grandmother, who managed to escape without the children.

The fire quickly spread and engulfed over 10 houses in the densely populated community. It took firefighters nearly three hours to extinguish the fire.

Earlier in May, two people were killed and two others injured in a fire that broke out in a crowded residential area in the Philippine capital, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.

The bureau said the three-hour blaze quickly spread in the closely packed houses made of light materials.

Officials said the two people killed, who were cousins, were trapped inside their house.

The fire damaged a nearby school building and torched several vehicles.

--IANS

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