Orphans die in Philippine fire

Orphans die in Philippine fire

DUMAGUETE, Philippines (AFP): Five children burned to death
when fire razed an orphanage in this central Philippine city, a
fire official said yesterday.

Fire marshal Ignacio Sy said four other people, including an
American who ran the orphanage and his Filipina wife, suffered
second-degree burns and were being treated at a hospital
following the blaze, which occurred shortly before midnight
Saturday.

Firefighters rescued 19 other children unharmed, he said.
The five killed, aged between five months and three years, were
trapped inside an "isolation room" on the second floor of the
building where they were being kept because they were sick, Sy
said.

Firefighters said the blaze quickly engulfed the two-story
building. Flames in the hallway of the second floor prevented
firefighters from rescuing the five sick children, they said.