New Year fire guts warehouses in Malabon, damage at P250M

Some individuals welcomed the New Year with heavy hearts after a fire destroyed their warehouses in Potrero, Malabon.

According to Bam Alegre’s report on Balitanghali, the fire started at 1 a.m. while firefighters raised the first alarm at 1:21 a.m.

Jaymar Rama, an employee, said they noticed smoke emitting from the first warehouse an hour after fireworks erupted to welcome the new year.

However, he said they did not notice any fire at that time.

A while later, he said he was informed of a fire. They tried to stop the blaze with a fire extinguisher, but he said it could not be contained.

“Nung nakita ko, mabilis na po ‘yung apoy galing kabilang side po, sa garments. ‘Yun, seconds lang po umano na ‘yung apoy. Tapos dumating po ‘yung amo ko, may dala po kami, ano po, ‘yung fire extinguisher. Hindi na po kaya ‘yung apoy, kasi mabilis po,” Rama, an employee, said.

(When I saw it, it was already spreading fast in the other warehouse, at the garments. It only took seconds for the fire. Then my employer arrived, and we carried a fire extinguisher. But we couldn’t stop it because it was too fast.)

At 2 a.m., the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) raised the alarm to Task Force Alpha, meaning that 24 firetrucks would be needed to extinguish the fire.

According to the owner of the warehouse, the items damaged included bike parts and gymnastic equipment such as trampolines, dumbbells, and others. Some items for babies were also burned.

The owner said that the damage is estimated at P250 million to P300 million.

There were no houses damaged, according to the report.

The BFP is still looking into the source of the fire.

Meanwhile, according to Raffy Tima’s report, another fire struck a residential area in Barangay Panghulo in Malabon.

There were no recorded casualties or injuries in the incident.

However, in Barangay Ususan, Taguig, children aged 6 years old and 10 years old died in a fire. Three others were also injured.

Authorities are still looking into the cause of the fire.

In Barangay CAA in Las Piñas, three houses were burned. The fire spread quickly as the houses were made from light materials.

A fire also occurred in a warehouse for motorcycle parts in Caloocan.

Meanwhile, a fire that reached the first alarm occurred in Cebu City, affecting six families. One individual experienced first-degree burns due to the incident.—Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA Integrated News