Fire devastates Philippines slum

[Watchman]

Fire devastates Philippines slum

The fire spread rapidly through the slum in Quezon city just outside Manila [Reuters]

Thousands of families in the Philippines have been left homeless after a fire swept through a shantytown outside the capital Manila.

Local officials say at least 600 houses were destroyed by the fire in Quezon city, which began on Sunday afternoon.

No fatalities were reported but one person was hospitalised with first degree burns, and two others were reported missing.

Many of the residents said they were unaware of the fierce fire until their homes were already burning.

Intense blaze
Thousands have families are now homeless after the fire swept through the slum [Reuters]


The city's mayor said that schools would serve as evacuation centres for the homeless slum residents.

The blaze spread rapidly through the slum, fanned by strong winds and the intense summer heat.

Firefighters struggled to penetrate alleys, which were clogged by people trying to save their belongings.

Many residents wept as they watched their houses and their few belongings consumed by the fire.

"We failed to save anything except our clothes," Glen Sardon, a resident, told the Associated Press.

The fire occured hours after fire volunteers in the city held an event aimed at enhancing their skills in firefighting.

Fires are common in the metropolis of 12 million, especially in shanty areas where houses are densely packed together.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/04/2010426412960617.html

 

[Watchman]

Thousands homeless after fire in Philippines slum

Posted 6 hours 9 minutes ago

Slum razed: fire sweeps through hundreds of houses in Quezon City (Reuters: Cheryl Ravelo)
Video: Philippine fire (ABC News)

More than 600 houses were destroyed, leaving thousands of people homeless, when a huge fire razed a slum area in a suburb of the Philippine capital on Sunday.

There were no confirmed fatalities but civil defence officials said the smoke was too thick to thoroughly search the scene.

Witnesses said they saw at least one firefighter injured as he battled the blaze.

The inferno broke out in the early afternoon and raged into the night, forcing city authorities to close down a major highway as it was clogged with fire trucks.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, Metro Manila officials said.

Slum areas in the Philippine capital are vulnerable to fires because the houses, often made from salvaged wood, are built close together, sometimes even piled on top of one another.

 

[Watchman]

Fire destroys hundreds of homes in slum near Manila
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 26, 2010 -- Updated 0018 GMT (0818 HKT)

Firemen battle to control a fire raging through a shanty residential area in Quezon City, in suburban Manila, on Sunday.

Philippines
Quezon City

(CNN) -- A massive fire destroyed about 600 homes Sunday in a shantytown outside the Philippines capital, displacing some 2,500 families, fire officials said.

The fire started at about 4 p.m. (4 a.m. ET) in the slum near Manila and was under control four hours later, said fire officials in Quezon City, a Manila suburb. There were no reports of casualties from the blaze. Five firefighters suffered minor injuries.

The fire has wreaked an estimated $10 million in damages, officials said.

 

[singveld]

maybe the gov burn it down.
what better way to clear the land and sell to rich property investors?

 

[Cestbon]

maybe the gov burn it down.
what better way to clear the land and sell to rich property investors?

That what in my mind. The fastest way and cheapest way. Paying someone willing to set up fire his own home in the middle of slum.

 

[singveld]

That what in my mind. The fastest way and cheapest way. Paying someone willing to set up fire his own home in the middle of slum.

now the slum burn, all the govt need to do is find an scapegoat.

 

[Watchman]

A seven-hour battle
05:55 AM Apr 27, 2010
Firemen battling to control a fire that raged through a shanty town in Quezon City, in suburban Manila, on Sunday.

One person died and hundreds of homes were destroyed in the blaze, which burned for more than seven hours.

Mr Obet Madarang, an aide to the mayor of Quezon City, said 2,600 families - about 15,000 people - had lost their homes and were now in desperate need of relief assistance.

He added that the fire was likely to have been caused by illegal power lines that slum dwellers typically set up. AFP