A large fire erupted Friday evening in a residential area at Block 5, Nueve de Pebrero, Barangay Pleasant Hills, Mandaluyong City, quickly intensifying and forcing firefighters to escalate their response.

According to the Philippine Emergency Alerts, the blaze rapidly escalated from a Positive Alarm to a first alarm at 6:38 p.m. It jumped to a second alarm at 6:42 p.m. and a third alarm at 6:54 p.m., before reaching the fourth alarm at 7:08 p.m.

Firefighters are currently on the scene battling the blaze in the densely populated neighborhood. Details on casualties, injuries, or the total number of houses affected are not yet available.