Firefighters train their hoses to the burning houses in Barangay Apas, Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
An elderly woman, who was visually-impaired or blind, was burned to death in yesterday afternoon’s fire in Sitio CRCI (Cebu Rehabilitation Center Inc.) in Barangay Apas, Cebu City which destroyed at least 70 houses and displaced 1,000 individuals, including 50 blind people.
Barangay chairman Ramil Ayuman said that Natividad Bacalan, 68, who was left alone in the house because her daughter was out working in Mandaue City, failed to get out of the house.
Another elderly blind woman, Guadalupe Tapitan, who was celebrating her 64th yesterday, suffered burns in her arms and body after she failed to get out fast enough of the burning house.
Ayuman said a construction worker rescued Tapitan inside her house.
Ayuman said that Sitio CRCI is inhabited by visually impaired or blind people and 50 blind people were living there.
“Kanang sitioha intended gyud na siya sa mga (visually impaired). Gikan na sila sa home for the blind unya naguba man to ilahang dako nga balay maong gi-transfer na sila diha. Pero gisudlan nana diha og mga informal settlers (That sitio is really intended for the visually impaired people in Cebu City. They came from the home for the blind [in Barangay Banilad] but the house they were staying in was ruined so they transferred to the sitio. However, informal settlers also started living in the area),” said Ayuman.
They could not see their house burning: The Badinas family was shocked to hear that their house was among the seventy homes razed to the ground by a fire which broke at 2:26 p.m. in Barangay Apas, Cebu City on Monday. The blaze hit a settlement area for the blind. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
In their initial investigation, Cebu City Fire Marshall Rogelio Bongabong Jr. said that 70 houses were razed by the fire.
Bongabong said they received the fire alarm at 2:26 p.m. and raised the status into second alarm.
But 25 minutes later, the fire was already under control, and at 5:18 p.m. it was declared fire out.
Bongabong said that the fire started at the house of Gemma Balatong and Romy Andanes.
“Nagluto ni sila nga ilahang ibaligya unyang gabii sa IT Park. Didto sila nagluto sa gas stove nga ni-leak (They were cooking viand that they were supposed to sell at IT Park. They were cooking on a gas stove which was leaking),” Bongabong said.
Bongabong estimated the fire damage at P500,000.
Ayuman said that as of yesterday, they listed as victims more than 300 households or more than 1,000 individuals.
The fire victims are staying in tents at the grounds of Department of Science and Technology (DOST-7) just beside the fire site./USJ-R Interns Delyne Mari A. Saragena and Danica D. Castro