MANILA, Philippines — A fire destroyed a boarding house on Concepcion Aguila Street, San Miguel, Manila early Thursday.

Initial investigations showed that the fire started on the second floor of the boarding house at around 2:30 a.m.

Before the incident, Esperanza Asuncion, a resident of the boarding house, said the boarders, mostly students, were roused from their sleep by one of the students.

By then, she said the room next to theirs was already engulfed in flames, leaving them with no option but to leave their valuables behind, and save themselves.

Firefighters from the Manila Fire District were able to respond to the emergency immediately and put the fire out at 3:07 a.m. (Rizal S. Obanil)