Five persons were hurt when an alcohol tank placed near a house suddenly exploded and triggered a fire on Baker Street in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City on Tuesday afternoon, May 3.
The Quezon City Fire District (QCFD) said that the victims, who are volunteers of an organization distributing alcohol and other items to residents in the area, sustained first to second degree burns and were rushed to the East Avenue Medical Center.
It added that the house and a vehicle near the alcohol tank were partially damaged.
The fire was raised to first alarm at around 1:21 p.m. and extinguished at around 1:36 p.m., according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Public information office.
The QCFD said that arson probers are still investigating the cause of the explosion.
It added that they are determining if the explosion originated from a vehicle which was parked near the tank hours before the incident, or if the alcohol tank itself overheated.
Authorities placed at P525,000 the estimated damage caused by the fire.