A fire caused by a firecracker razed a densely populated area in Tondo, Manila destroying at least 1,000 houses and P10 million worth of property following the New Year celebration early Friday morning.
Bureau of Fire officials said four people were hurt while a 65-year-old woman died of heart attack during the blaze that hit two barangays along Dagupan Extension. They added most of the houses destroyed were built with light materials.
Responding firemen and volunteers from various parts of Metro Manila put out the fire around 10 a.m.
There were reports that a firecracker called “rockets” triggered the blaze.
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada earlier issued a warning and ordered high alert on all local emergency and rescue units in anticipation of fire incidents during the New Year revelry.
Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Johnny Yu admitted that more frequent (fire) cases occur on the dates of Dec. 24, 25, 30, 31 and Jan. 1. He added that an average of four to five incidents have been recorded in the whole of Metro Manila during Christmas Day and New Year’s Day celebrations in the past.
In Manila, Yu said they expect one to two cases of fire daily during these days.
Records from the Manila Fire Bureau showed that 36 fire incidents took place in the first three weeks of December 2014 alone, 13 of which reached high-level alarm status. Eleven injuries and two fatalities were also recorded.
Most of the fires happened mostly due to faulty electrical lines, unattended gas lamps and cooking stoves and overheating appliances.