(CDN PHOTO/Lito Tecson)
At least 40 houses went up in smoke and a still undetermined number of persons were displaced in a two-hour fire that hit the densely populated Villa Zacate Compound in Barangay Basak San Nicholas, Cebu City earlier this evening.
Fire Chief Inspector Rogelio Bongabong Jr. City Fire Marschall of BFP Cebu City that they recieved the fire call at 6:24 p.m. and placed it under control at 8:20 p.m.
Fire investigators traced the fire to an unattended lighted candle in the house of a certain Jun Jun Regudo. The fire spread quickly since the houses in the area, including the on owned by Regudo, were made of light materials, Bongabong said.
Bungabong said firefighters had difficulty putting out the blaze the houses were only separated by small alleys that were not accessible to fire trucks.
Barangay officials and social workers from Cebu City were still collating the names of persons affected by the fire.
Damage was pegged at at least P350,000.