MANILA – At least 16 people were killed in a fire that razed a house that was converted into a printing establishment in Quezon City Thursday morning.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said the fire started at 5:30 a.m. at a house along Kennedy Drive, Pleasant View Subdivision in Barangay Tandang Sora.

It was raised to the first alarm at 5:44 a.m. and was declared fire out at 8:04 a.m.

Chief Supt. Nahum Tarroza, BFP – National Capital Region fire marshal, said the owners of the house, their three-year-old child and some stay-in workers were among the fatalities while three persons survived.

“This is a residential house turned into a T-shirt printing business hub and they have stay-in workers. Some are staying at the back of the house. They have a room and bunk beds there. Some are staying on the second floor and we have three survivors whom we interviewed. They are now in the custody of the barangay,” he said in a radio interview.

Citing the account of one of the survivors, Tarroza said one of them was able to run out of the house while the other survivors jumped out of the windows on the second floor of the house.

Tarroza said the fire broke out at the entrance and exit of the house.

Meanwhile, he said firefighters were unable to quickly respond due to various reasons.

“The firefighters arrived 14 minutes late and this is now under probe. They were also given the wrong address, plus the floods and traffic from the heavy rains. The vehicular traffic in Tandang Sora gets heavy as early as 5 a.m.,” Tarroza said.

He said chemicals used for T-shirt printing could have caused the fire to spread rapidly.

“Dumating kasi ang first responders totally engulfed na yung bahay ng apoy. Kung nakita niyo yung mga pictures natin, talagang wala na talaga, ubos na eh. Kasi plus factor pa yung chemicals ng pintura, yung mga tela. So malakas talaga na mag-create ng apoy (When the first responders arrived, the house was totally engulfed by fire. If you’ve seen our pictures, it’s really gone. The chemicals of the paint and the fabrics contributed to the fire),” Tarroza said.

He said the shop only had a barangay permit, which was secured only this August.

It also did not have other necessary permits, such as a business permit and a mayor’s permit.

“Nakita namin sa previous record namin nag-apply sila last year, expired ito November last year pa. And then na-discover namin kanina sa barangay, meron silang clearance ngayon August palang barangay clearance sila. So bago ka mag-apply ng mayor’s permit, kukuha ka ng barangay muna. Then pagkatapos ng mayor’s permit, dadaan po yan sa bumbero para sa fire safety naman. Hindi pa sila nakakapunta sa City Hall, nangyari na itong insidente (We saw from our previous record that they applied last year, it expired in November last year. Then we discovered a while ago in the barangay, they have a clearance. They have a barangay clearance in August. So before you apply for a mayor’s permit, you will get the barangay [permit] first. Then after the mayor’s permit, it will go through the fire department for fire safety. They haven’t been to the City Hall yet but this incident already happened),” he said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. (PNA)