A huge blaze believed to have been ignited by firecrackers razed nearly 1,000 shanties and killed one person in a creekside slum in the Philippine capital, one of more than a dozen fires across the country linked to New Year's celebrations.

Strong winds fanned the flames racing through nearly a kilometre-long row of shanties in a village in suburban Quezon city in metropolitan Manila before dawn yesterday.

Firefighters struggled to get near the burning shanties because of narrow alleys. "It's really a tragic way to welcome the new year," said a firefighter spokesman.

Firefighters recovered the body of a woman and two other residents who were trapped in their houses after rains helped douse the six-hour inferno.

Three people were injured, including a firefighter, whose fingers were ripped off by metal shrapnel that flew around when a cooking gas tank exploded, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.

Residents struggled to save anything they could from the fire, including cats and dogs, with many using improvised floating devices to cross a murky river to flee the flames.

Bureau of Fire Protection spokesman Renato Marcial said about 4,000 poor families were left homeless. At least 17 fires have raged across the country before and during New Year's revelry. Despite threats of arrest and a government scare campaign, outlawed powerful firecrackers were still used. At least seven people died in two of the fires, Marcial said, adding that some of the flames were believed to have been ignited by illegal firecrackers.

Irish Independent