Fire hits Mandaluyong warehouse; 7 killed

(Updated 4:04 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - Seven people, including a child, were killed Sunday in a predawn fire that hit a furniture warehouse in Mandaluyong City. Fire Officer 2 Marcos Cabiso identified the fatalities as: - Amante de Gracia Marquez, 59, bookkeeper; - Nenita Marquez, 55, general manager; - Marnelli Marquez, 26, student; - Sofia Francesa Marquez, 4; - Leonora Piedad, 27, Engineer; and - and a certain Girlie and Luming, all stay-in at Furniture Contractors, Inc., located at no. 2 Florante st., Barangay Plainview, Mandaluyong City. A radio dzBB report by Manny Vargas earlier said the fire started 12:52 a.m. and reached the fourth alarm before being put out at 3:35 a.m. Cabiso said the cadaver of the victims were brought to Gospel Funeral Parlor in Mandaluyong. “They were charred beyond recognition. They might have been sleeping when the fire broke out and they were trapped and pinned by falling debris that is why they were not able to escape,” Cabiso said. The Mandaluyong fire department is still investigating the cause of the fire and the amount of damage. “We are also waiting for the relatives of the two victims, who were only identified in their nicknames,” Cabiso said. - GMANews.TV