The fire was completely extinguished in Athena Residences in Barangay San Miguel in Pasig City at 11 pm on Wednesday night.
In the videos that have spread on social media, it can be seen that the flames are huge.
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection, the fire spread quickly because the house was made of light materials.
It was around 8:22 p.m. when the first alarm was raised, and only 11 minutes later, it was raised on the second alarm. The fire was declared under control around 10:37 p.m.
According to the fire victims, some stoves exploded, so the fire got even bigger.
Residents of Athena Residences in Barangay San Miguel brought buckets of water to hand over to the fire trucks.
Bayan Patroller Sonny Caleze’s live Facebook feed shows the neighbors’ bayanihan to put out the fire.
According to Caleze, he was surprised to see a huge fire right in front of their house.
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Fire hits Athena Residences in Pasig City
Caleze also immediately called his friend Alnie Mendoza Sobremonte, a fire volunteer of Mandaluyong BlackHawk Fire Rescue, to ask for help.
In an interview with Sobremonte, he said that around 7:30 pm, his friend called him to respond.
According to Sobremonte, the fire hydrant of Athena Residences is not working yet, so they just asked for help from the residents to pass a bucket to fill the small fire trucks with water.
Sobremonte explained that the road to Athena Residences is narrow, so large fire trucks cannot enter.
He added that the fire originated in an area called Tinambakan 2 or the residence of the urban poor behind the exclusive subdivision.
According to Sobremonte, some houses in Athena Residences were also affected by the fire but were not completely damaged because there was a firewall between the houses in Tinambakan 2 and Athena Residences.
It is not yet certain how many homes and families are affected. The cause of the fire is still being determined.
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