Fire hit Barangay Lahug, Cebu City on Friday night. (Photo by Hannah Joyce Obal)
A house was burned down in a fire that broke out in Sitio Pangutana near the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (AFP Centcom) camp in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City past 10 p.m, Friday.
The two-story house made of light materials was reportedly owned by Joel Algoso and was situated at an interior portion of the sitio, some 200 meters from the AFP Centcom camp.
Fire investigator FO2 Nelson Daculan of the Lahug Fire Station said the blaze was possibly caused by electrical short circuit but he said they will still have to conduct a follow up investigation to validate this.
According to Joel’s aunt, Carmen, she was upstairs preparing to go to sleep when she heard a crackling noise coming from downstairs. When she went down to check, the blaze was already all over the place.
Daculan said that all of of the house’s eight occupants, including a mother and her newborn child, were able to flee from the burning house unhurt.
The fire was put under control at 10:52 p.m and was declared out at 12:07 a.m. Estimated damage to the property was placed at P20,000.