A three-year-old girl died while another child was injured when a fire of still-unknown cause struck a populated barangay in Taguig City, police said on Saturday.
The Southern Police District identified the fatality as Precious Clarisa Parcarey, while the other victim was nine-year-old John Rey Mendibel.
The fire started around 8:26 a.m. at a house along Maestrong Pinang Street, Purok Pulang Araw in Barangay Ligid-Tipas, investigators said.
The blaze destroyed at least 100 houses, according to the Taguig City Police Community Precinct 5. Responding firemen declared the fire out after more than two hours.
Fire Supt. Randolph Bides, head of the Taguig Bureau of Fire Protection, said they are still investigating the cause of the blaze.
Just last month, a 39-year-old woman was killed in a fire, also in Taguig City.
Rose Franco was trapped when the blaze struck at her residence along Dimasalang Street in Barangay Hagonoy. Two other houses were destroyed, affecting eight families in the compound.
The so-called “Ber Months” (September to December) is a perennial period for fire safety in the country, as it usually registers a high number of fire cases, mostly caused by malfunctioning or overheating Christmas lights and firecracker-related incidents, the BFP said.
The city government said people should consider safety first when installing Christmas lights and lanterns, and make sure the products they are using pass safety and quality standards inspections.
The BFP advised the people to take into consideration the outdoor and indoor usage of Christmas lights as specified in the product information, and that there should be no exposed wirings in the connections when putting it on display.