Two weekend fires gutted Manila's hospital, market

The first fire broke out at 8 p.m. near the Paco Market on Saturday, three hours later another blaze gutted the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Ermita, Manila, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported Sunday.

Fire Superintendent Leo Andiso, deputy district fire marshall of the Manila Fire Department said the first blaze hit a commercial building on Pedro Gil Street.

It quickly spread to other establishments made of light materials, according to Andiso, prompting them to raise the second alarm at 8:09 p.m.

Andiso said the fire also affected the Paco Catholic School and continued to rage and reached the fifth alarm.

And it was only put out at 10:28 p.m. and declared the fire out at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.

They placed the cost of the fire at P1.6 million while still conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

He added a fire volunteer was slightly injured during the blaze.

Andiso also reported that around a hundred patients were evacuated when the second fire broke out at PGH, which raged for only 20 minutes before they were able to put it out.

However, the deputy district fire marshall said the fire affected the former X-ray room which has been used to store medicines as smoke was also detected in the emergency room.

Fireout was declared at 11:36 p.m. while arson probers are still determining the cause of the fire.