MANILA, Philippines — A huge fire, believed to have been ignited by firecrackers, razed hundreds of shanties in a creekside slum in metropolitan Manila Thursday in one of more than a dozen fires reported across the country as Filipinos welcomed the New Year.
Village officer Noel Carino said the fire, apparently sparked by firecrackers set off by children, erupted after dawn and was spread quickly by strong winds through nearly a kilometer-long (half a mile-long) row of shanties in a village in suburban Quezon city. Firefighters struggled to get near the burning shanties because of narrow alleys.
“It’s really a tragic way to welcome the New Year,” Carino said.
Residents struggled to save anything they could from the fire, including pet cats and dogs, with many using improvised floating devices to cross a murky river to escape from the fire.
Firefighters said hundreds of small shanties were destroyed, displacing thousands of poor families.