Fire hits residential area in Talayan Village, QC; one dead, 300 houses razed

One person died while 700 families lost their homes after a fire broke out at a residential area in Talayan Village, Quezon City on Friday morning.

The Bureau of Fire Protection confirmed the fatality before 1 p.m., according to a report on Balita Pilipinas by Marisol Abdurahman.

The lone fatality was a 66-year-old man who initially was able to flee from the fire but rushed back to his house to salvage some belongings but ended up suffocating.

The BFP raised the fifth alarm past 9 a.m.

FIRE UPDATE: Sunog sa Talayan Village, Quezon City, nananatili pa rin sa ika-5 alarma. | via @Rodveg72 pic.twitter.com/x9FBEbOK7B

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) August 11, 2017

A separate report from dzBB's Rod Vega confirmed that the fire hit an area where informal settlers reside.

According to authorities, the fire burned around 300 houses made of light materials and were home to 700 families.

UPDATE: Sunog sa Brgy. Talayan sa QC, nasa 5th alarm pa rin. | via @Rodveg72 pic.twitter.com/RJKpjYzCW6

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) August 11, 2017

Firefighters also had a hard time entering the premises affected by the fire due to the isolation of the place.

However, they have managed to connect pieces of fire hoses together to get to the areas that were hard to reach by firetrucks.

The firemen also made use of the water from a nearby creek in putting out the fire, Abdurahman reported on Balitanghali.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire.

Several witnesses, however testified that the fire broke out at around 9 a.m. in one of the houses.

The first alarm was raised around 9:15 a.m. and was later on raised to fifth or general alarm.

The fire has since been placed under control. —Akari Nakano/KG/KVD/MDM, GMA News