A fire in Sampaloc, Manila, early Wednesday morning destroyed an estimated P6 million worth of property after armed men allegedly broke into the compound, tied up a caretaker, and fled.

Initial investigations showed that the blaze erupted around 2 a.m. inside the property and a certain Jay — the caretaker — told investigators that he was asleep when several armed individuals woke him and bound his hands.

“I couldn’t tell anymore because they were wearing masks and had their faces covered. I only saw about five or six motorcycles. One of them was even stepping on me. Then, when they said, ‘let’s go, let’s go,’ they just left like it was nothing. That’s when I came out by then the fire was already big,” said the caretaker.

Jay managed to escape, but he was unsure if two other caretakers present at the time also got out safely. Their employers were not at the property when the incident occurred. Local barangay officials confirmed that authorities are investigating the incident.

The compound’s closed-circuit television camera was not working during the incident but investigators are hoping that security cameras in nearby areas may have captured the suspects.

Meantime, barangay captain Danilo Tibay described the intensity of the fire.