Photojournalist hurt in Paranaque fire

(Updated 9:46 p.m.) A photojournalist was hurt after he was trapped in a fire that razed a hospital in Paranaque early on Tuesday, a television report said. Thick smoke entered the lobby, the emergency room, and some floors of the South Superhighway Medical Center (SSMC) at Marcelo Green Village in Sucat, Parañaque at 5 a.m. Tuesday, a report aired over “24 Oras" said. A photojournalist who tried to get into the hospital to take photos obtained minor injuries while trying to escape the burning building.
"Pinilit ko lumabas, mahirap din (I had to get out, the smoke made it hard to see)," said Ali Vicoy, a photojournalist of Manila Bulletin. The fire, which reached the fourth alarm, was declared under control at 10 a.m. Tuesday after razing two large houses near the hospital. Officials from the Bureau of Fire Protection are still investigating the origin of the fire, although hospital personnel believe that the fire started at the building’s extension, where flammable equipment are stored. – With Andreo C. Calonzo/VVP/JV, GMANews.TV