ON the eve of the fire prevention month of March, two fire incidents gutted hundreds of houses in Quezon City and Pasig, leaving thousands of people homeless.
Reports said one firefighter was injured while more than 1, 000 families lost their homes in the two incidents. The fireman suffered burns on his face while battling a fire at a building along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City.
The fire started at 12:15 a.m. Saturday and was still at Task Force Bravo as of 1:30 p.m.
The firefighters had to use chemical foam to battle the blaze. The building housed several commercial establishments.
In Pasig City, 500 houses were destroyed in a fire at a residential area in Bolante 2 in Barangay Pinagbuhatan.
The fire reached the general alarm level but was put out at 1:25 p.m., a GMA News report said.
Reports indicated the fire started at about 9 a.m. and spread quickly, partly due to strong winds, and partly due to the narrow roads that prevented the firefighters from arriving there on time.
In Malacañang, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte appealed to the public and local government units to be vigilant in preventing fires that could happen frequently at the onset of summer.
The country is observing fire prevention month this March.
“We appeal to our families to make sure to do your yearly check up of your houses—the ones that you rent or your own homes,” Valte said in an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
The people could ask the help of the Bureau of Fire Protection, which conducts inspections in cooperation with the local government units.
“And we also call on the local government units to start conducting their inspections to make sure that the homes in their jurisdiction and the offices and the buildings are also up to speed on our relevant codes.”
Last week, a fire razed a residential area in Pasay City, leaving 400 families homeless.
With a report from PNA