Residents of Barangay Damayang Lagi in Quezon City sift through the remains of their shanties after they were razed by a huge fire that swept their neighborhood. (Mark Balmores)

A 32-year-old man was killed, P10 million worth of property was destroyed and some 3,000 families were rendered homeless when a fire hit an area in Quezon City Sunday night.

Arson investigators reported that the fire started in one of the houses along Barangay Damayang Lagi, E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City at 3:50 p.m.

A certain Andres Donamico, 32, a resident in the area, was reported killed during the five-hour fire. Though Donamico’s home was miraculously left untouched by the flames, investigators explained that the smoke got through the victim’s unit.

Donamico was believed drunk and had been sleeping inside his home when the fire broke out.

Three other residents were also hurt during the fire. They were identified as Anthony Jose, who suffered asphyxia; Romel Pilbe, who had a slightly burned chest; and Victorio Almen, who sustained second degree burns on his left hand.

Quezon City Fire Department arson probers reported that the fire reached as high as Task Force Echo, one of the highest fire alarms.

After battling with the flames for around five hours, firefighters were finally able to control and put out the fire at 8:45 p.m.

By then, some 1,500 houses had already been destroyed, leaving thousands of people stuck on the streets with no shelter and only the few possessions they could salvage close them.

Because the street was occupied by the victims of the fire, traffic policemen had to re-route all vehicular traffic from the area to prevent further congestion.

The Delos Santos-STI campus served as the evacuation center for the homeless, as well as the other establishments in the area.

On Monday morning, residents of the area already started the "road to recovery" by sifting through the charred salvageable materials, like wood and burned metal, to sell to businessmen.

The Quezon City local government has also sent a team from the Social Welfare and Development Office to assess possible recipients of financial assistance from the local government.

The victims were interviewed to determine whether they were tenants, owners or merely staying with their relatives when the fire happened.

Fire investigator SFO1 Rosendo Cabillen said two neighbors, namely Cynthia Serrano and Melchor Espallardo, pointed fingers at each other in blaming where the fire first started.

Cabillen said he learned from residents that an unattended stove in one of the homes of either Serrano and Espallardo, both with the common address at No. 204 E. Rodriquez Avenue, might have started the fire. (With reports from Chito Chavez and Carlo Suerte Felipe)