More than P10 million worth of properties went up in smoke during a huge fire that razed at least 1,000 houses and shanties in Paco, Manila last Wednesday evening, firemen said Thursday.

No one was reported hurt or injured but at least 2,000 families were rendered homeless during the more than seven-hour fire, which was first reported to have started inside the house of a certain Jenny Peralta at around 5:30 p.m, Wednesday, along Gomez Street., Paco in Manila.

Other reports said the fire started from a two-storey house owned by the Diamante family at the corner of P. Gomez and Canonigo streets.

The fire spread quickly prompting the Manila Fire Department to sound a general alarm which calls for all available firetrucks in nearby cities to respond to the fire.

Firefighters from different areas responded to the scene and declared that the blaze under control at 9:30 p.m.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Emmanuel Gaspar, duty desk officer of the Manila Fire Department, said that the evening blaze in Paco was finally extinguished at around 12:44 a.m. Thursday.

“Hindi pa natin matiyak kung ano ang naging sanhi ng sunog. Under investigation pa hanggang ngayon," Gaspar said.

Asked why it took firefighters more than seven hours to put out the fire, Gaspar said that they had a hard time getting inside the congested community.

He added that most of the shanties were made of light materials which greatly contributed to the immediate spread of the fire.

Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Regional Director Pablito Cordeta estimated the damage to property at P10 million.

Residents who lost their homes to the fire were relocated to the Manuel Roxas High School.