Three firefighters suffered from suffocation while responding to a fire that hit a condominium building along Lavezares Street corner Camba Street in Binondo, Manila on Monday evening, May 6.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) identified the injured firefighters as Ronald Lim, Myrthle Marquez, and Excel Meneses. They were given first-aid and were brought to the hospital for further treatment.
According to the BFP, the fire allegedly started around 9:30 p.m. on the eighth floor of Ritz Royal Tower, which is a 20-storey commercial condominium building.
The BFP said the fire was elevated to the first alarm at 9:52 p.m. and was raised to the second alarm around 9:54 p.m.
It escalated to the third alarm at 11:42 p.m.
Firefighters said they had difficulty reaching the burning room because of the building's narrow stairway.
It took them almost six hours before the fire was put under control at 4:14 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, and another five hours before it was extinguished at 9 a.m.
Authorities said the fire immediately spread to the entire room due to the products made of light materials that were stored inside the room.
Around 15 million worth of property was damaged in the incident.
Arson investigators are still investigating the cause of the fire.