MANILA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed after a fire engulfed a small house in a crowded residential area in the Philippine capital on early Monday morning, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.
Firefighter Josephus Franco Alburo said the victims were a couple and their two daughters, aged three and 17, who were trapped inside the house when the fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. local time in Las Pinas City.
"We are looking at electrical power as a possible source of the fire," Alburo told reporters.
"The narrow alleyway leading to the burning house and the gathering crowd clogged and slowed down our efforts to extinguish the fire," Alburo added.
It took firefighters an hour to extinguish the fire, preventing the blaze from affecting other houses. ■
