A total of 70 houses were destroyed when a fire hit a residential area in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa on Feb. 23.
According to the Muntinlupa City Fire Station, the blaze displaced about 250 families or about 1,000 individuals.
The fire started from a house on Rizal Aplaya at about 3:32 a.m. and spread to nearby structures occupied by informal settlers, the report stated.
The fire in Rizal Aplaya in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa on Feb. 23 (Photos: Muntinlupa Department of Disaster Resilience and Management, Barangay Poblacion, Poblacion Health Center on Facebook)
The first alarm was raised at 3:35 a.m. followed by a second alarm at 3:53 a.m. The blaze was put under control at 5:04 a.m. before it was put out at 7:11 a.m.
Investigators estimated the damage to properties at P350,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Personnel from the Muntinlupa Department of Disaster Resilience and Management (MDDRM) also responded to help.
The MDDRM provided tents to the families in the evacuation area while the Muntinlupa Social Services Department gave essential goods to the families.
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon and Rep. Jaime Fresnedi immediately visited the affected families.
Biazon, accompanied by Barangay Poblacion Chairman Allen Ampaya, assured families that the city government will provide them with assistance. The families are temporarily staying at the barangay hall of Poblacion while others are at the Muntinlupa Evacuation Center in the barangay.
A total of 33 fire trucks and two ambulances responded to the fire incident.
Mayor Ruffy Biazon, accompanied by Barangay Poblacion Chairman Allen Ampaya, visiting the affected families at the evacuation site at the barangay hall (Screenshots from Mayor Biazon's video)
Personnel from the Poblacion Health Center in Muntinlupa providing medical services to the affected families (Photos from Poblacion Health Center-Muntinlupa Facebook page)
The aftermath of the fire in Rizal Aplaya in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa on Feb. 23 (Photos: Muntinlupa Department of Disaster Resilience and Management on Facebook)