Burning houses in a residential neighbourhood in an informal settlement in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila

Left, A framed depiction of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on a wall in a house gutted by a fire in Pasig; right, a man carries a statue of Jesus after a fire in a residential neighbourhood in Las Piñas



A man pours water over himself after a fire in a residential neighbourhood of an informal settlement in Muntinlupa



One scorching afternoon this month, inhabitants of a slum in the Philippines capital frantically hurled buckets of water to try to save their homes from a raging fire. Six hours later, their efforts proved to no avail. In a country with a yawning wealth gap, the hardest hit are the hundreds of thousands of urban poor who call the shanties home.

Residents attend a wake for their six relatives who died after a fire in a dilapidated building, in an informal settlement in Paranaque



Marybeth Antier, 24, recalled with horror a recent fire that killed six members of her family. At their funeral, their bodies were squeezed into the two caskets she could afford. “I saw the building where we live already ablaze,” she said. “My child was inside but I could not enter anymore.”

A blaze in Quezon City



For the capital’s thousands of firefighters, the slums are sprawling, unregulated tinderboxes. Tangles of drooping wires run from one electric post to another along the narrow alleys of the city’s most neglected communities, crowded with shacks made from plywood and coconut tree lumber. Fire safety and building codes are unheard of. The Bureau of Fire Protection said the so-called informal settlers complicated efforts to save property and lives.

A tangle of electrical wires in Vitas tenement in Tondo



Left, a resident rests inside his house, which has gutted by a fire in Quezon City; right, Vitas tenement foregrounds a new residential condominium building in Tondo



A man sits in an alleyway as his house burns in Muntinlupa



Fire engines struggle to navigate along pathways littered with vehicles, food carts and stalls. Faulty electrical connections, often dangerously rigged and overloaded by residents, unattended stoves and carelessly tossed cigarettes are the main causes of the fires.

Residents outside a fire station in Paco



At a fire station near the capital’s biggest park, firefighters are on duty for 24-hour shifts. While they wait, they doze, work out, play sports or perform drills.

Firefighters carry a survivor to an ambulance during a fire in Muntinlupa



A firefighter gestures to colleagues as a shopping centre burns in Quezon City



Milan Miranda, a firefighter, plans to retire next year after 32 years. He was inspired by his father and uncle to join the ranks, despite the dangers.

Every fire is a challenge as we lack breathing apparatus. We risk our lives, but this is the career given to me by God Milan Miranda

Firefighters tackle a fire as they compete during the annual national Fire Olympics in Manila



Left, flames rise from an LPG stove in the kitchen of a resident in Vitas tenement; right, firefighters wait for water supply



Fires quickly engulf the shanty communities, according to Pablo Sy, a pipe-thread machine operator in the Santa Cruz district of Manila. “I was cooking and then we noticed the fire on our rooftop on the third floor. Everyone panicked,” he said, recalling the first fire he experienced. “Everything was burned. We weren’t able to save anything because it spread so quickly.”

Residents stand with their belongings in Laguna lake after fleeing from their homes in Muntinlupa



A boy looks at the ruins of his family home in Pasig



Fire survivors collect recyclable materials after a blaze in Quezon City



Hours after a fire is extinguished, residents salvage whatever they can reuse and rebuild their homes – just as flammable as they were before.