3 hurt, 90 families lose homes in QC fire

(Updated 12:06 p.m.) Three people were hurt while 90 families lost their homes in a fire that hit a residential area in Quezon City before noon Monday. Some 30 houses near the Bureau of Internal Revenue compound at the corner of East Avenue and Agham Road were razed, dzBB's Allan Gatus reported. The fire, which started at 10:37 a.m. at the two-story house of one Annaliza dela Cruz, reached Task Force Bravo before it was put out at 11:30 a.m. Philippine Red Cross teams identified two of the injured as Carlito Parillo, who was trying to save his belongings; and Marissa Almada, 31, who was injured in the foot when she jumped from the second floor of their house with her seven-year-old child. Many residents panicked and tried to save their belongings, some of them depositing their possessions at the BIR compound, the report said. A strong wind threatened to fan the flames and have the fire spread to other houses. Traffic was snarled as the Bureau of Fire Protection closed off both ends of the nearby BIR Road to allow fire trucks to get to the scene. The fire occurred a day after volunteer firefighters held a Fire Olympics to show their preparedness to fight fires. On Friday Last week, two fires hit Metro Manila — one in Quezon City's Cubao district and the other one in Parañaque City. — RSJ, GMA News