PCO chief Garafil’s house affected in QC fire

The house of Presidential Communications Office (PCO) chief Cheloy Garafil was among the structures affected by a fire in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City on Wednesday evening.

The fire broke out at around 8 p.m. in a duplex house and spread to another home, according to Bam Alegre's on Unang Balita on Thursday. 

Garafil declined to give a statement on the incident.

Meanwhile, a 67-year-old resident sustained third degree burns on the hand and was brought to a hospital for medical treatment, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said.

Three families were affected by the incident. 

The fire was declared out at 10:44 p.m. 

More or less P7 million worth of damage was estimated.

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

BFP - Quezon City’s Fire Chief Inspector Marvin Mari said responders were not able to get to the area swiftly because of the heavy traffic amid Valentine's Day.

“Natagalan po iyong pagtawag. Nakareponde naman tayo kaso sa sobrang traffic hindi agad nakarating po,” he said.

(It took them a long time to call. We were able to respond but due to the heavy traffic, we were not able to arrive immediately.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News