Seven, including 3 firemen, hurt in fire in Barangay Culiat, QC

Seven individuals, including three firemen, were injured in a fire that broke out in a residential area in Barangay Culiat, Quezon City on Sunday night.

Almost 200 families also lost their homes, barangay officials said, according to a report by James Agustin on Unang Balita on Monday.

The fire broke out around 9 p.m. at Adelfa Compound and Vargas Compound and quickly spread.

Firemen had difficulty putting out the huge fire which reached the fifth alarm, meaning 33 firetrucks of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and fire volunteers were needed.

Aside from difficulty reaching the origin of the fire, firemen said some firetrucks also ran out of water.

"Nahirapan pasukin ng ating mga bumbero ang origin ng sunog po natin. Nahirapan din po tayo sa pagladlad ng fire hoses natin. Nakita natin sa dami ng mga kababayan na papalabas, kami naman ay papasok," Quezon City District Fire Marshal Fire Senior Superintendent Aristotle Banaga said.

(Our firemen had a hard time getting to the origin of the fire. We also had a hard time laying down our hoses. We saw the number of residents going out [of the compounds] while we were trying to get in.)

"Source of water natin medyo mahina ang buga ng fire hydrant. Mayroon tayong dalawang nakuhanan ng [tubig] pero malayo ang lugar ng fire hydrant," he added.

(Our source of water — the fire hydrant — did not have much water. We were able to tap another fire hydrant but it was farther away.)  

Residents helped put water in firetrucks using pails.

Firemen also climbed onto vehicles and rooftops to put out the fire. They also had to bore a hole in a cemented wall to get to the affected area.

There were some explosions which further fed the fire.

Residents tried to save their belongings and pets, but some were not able to bring out any.

The fire was placed under control at 12:22 a.m. on Monday and was finally put out before 3 a.m.

The BFP is still determining what caused the fire and how much damage was done.

Meanwhile, affected residents were brought to three evacuation centers where there were modular tents and food.

The residents appealed for help to enable them to rise from the tragedy. —KG, GMA Integrated News