Pasig fire: Mother saves children, victims return to burned site

A mother and several victims narrated the events and aftermath of a four-hour fire that left 100 families in Barangay San Miguel, Pasig homeless.

In Marisol Abdurahman's "24 Oras" report, Kim Gilaran, one of the fire victims, said she immediately rescued her children and left their belongings as the blaze worsened.

"I left our home together with my kids. I told them that our possessions don't matter as long as I saved their lives," Gilaran said in Filipino.

Another mother said she managed to save her children's birth certificates from being perished in the fire.

"During the fire, I thought of taking the tablets of my children but I heard something explode so I opted to leave the area," Rowena said in Filipino.

Some fire victims returned to the burned site, where most houses turned to rubble in the blaze.

They collected scraps of metal or whatever is left that they can sell.

"We need money to buy rice," one of the unnamed fire victims said while placing metal inside a sack.

Based on the report, the Pasig government was able to evacuate over 100 homeless families.

Victims were provided with relief goods, alcohol and face masks. They were also staying inside tents to maintain social distancing from other families.

The evacuees immediately underwent antigen tests to trace and isolate infected individuals.

"We need to test them all so that there will be no further transmission of COVID-19," Myla Espino, chief medtech of Pasig City, said in a mix of Filipino and English.—Consuelo Marquez/LDF, GMA News