6 people hospitalized after predawn fires hit Manila

At least six people were hospitalized while several families lost their homes in two predawn fires in Manila’s Chinatown and Tondo districts Thursday. Radio dzBB’s Roland Bola reported six residents of a two-story building in Manila’s Chinatown district were rushed to a hospital after they suffocated from smoke inhalation. The fire started at the second floor of the Foremost Building along Soler Street in Manila’s Binondo district at about 4:45 a.m., and reached the first alarm. Firefighters rushed to the scene and had to use breathing apparatus to enter the building.

Earlier, a fire of undetermined origin razed several houses made of light materials at the corner of Juan Luna and Trinidad Streets in Tondo. No one was initially reported injured in the fire, which started at 3:09 a.m. and reached the fifth alarm before firefighters placed it under control past 4 a.m. Many residents tried to save belongings while others could only cry while watching their homes burn. — LBG, GMANews.TV