THREE children died while three others were hurt in a fire that broke out at a residential area in Barangay Obrero in Quezon City on Wednesday.

The charred remains of cousins Ezail, 11; Elise, seven; and Nick, five – all surnamed Ragindin, were found by firefighters in their three-story house along Father Martinez Street.

A report from the Bureau of Fire Protection’s National Capital Region (BFP-NCR) field office said the fire started on the second floor of the house of the Ragindin family at around 11:57 p.m.

Theresa, the children’s grandmother, said she woke up the victims when she noticed the house was already on fire. The victims were reportedly sleeping with their grandmother when the incident happened.

She said that she tried to save them, but she fell from the third floor to the ground floor of their house, leaving the three kids inside the room.

She said she was not able to rescue the children as bystanders had already taken her out of the house.

The father said he and his wife grabbed their four-month-old baby and crawled to the second level with their eldest child. They reportedly threw the baby through a window to the arms of a neighbor, who caught the infant safely.

The couple and their 13-year-old eldest child jumped from the second floor.

The BFP said the fire reached the first alarm and was put out by firefighters yesterday at around 3:12 a.m.

Arson probers said 27 houses were burned by the fire, displacing some 81 families.

The cause of the fire, which destroyed P135,000 worth of property, has yet to be determined by investigators.

Twelve fire trucks and four ambulances responded to the scene, the BFP said.

Meanwhile, a fire hit a shantytown in Bgy. Balingasa Thursday morning.

The fire in the slum area started at around 10:04 a.m. and reached the third alarm. The blaze was still raging as of 11:13 a.m. Thursday (Sept. 8).