A 75-year-old woman died while two others, including a 10-month-old baby boy, were hurt when a fire struck a two-storey house in Quezon City, early yesterday morning.
Authorities said that the fire destroyed an estimated P200,000 worth of property.
Fire Supt. Jesus Fernandez, Quezon City Fire Marshal said victim Loreta Placer succumbed to burns and suffocation.
Injured were identified as Ania Arellano, 14; and Aaron Arellano, 10 months old.
Fernandez said that based on initial reports he received, the old woman died after she was trapped inside the burning house at 48 Ilocos Norte St., Bago Bantay, Quezon City.
The two children, meanwhile, were safely rescued by their mother before the flames engulfed the house.
He said the fire started at about 4:57 a.m. Wednesday inside the kitchen area located on the ground floor of the house.
Probers were looking into reports that a leaking LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) tank caused the fire.
The fire that reached the fourth alarm spread to two other houses and affected a total of seven families.
Fernandez said 24 fire trucks from both the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and volunteer fire brigades put out the fire at about 5:59 a.m. the same day. (FRANCIS T. WAKEFIELD)