CEBU CITY—It was a sad Christmas for the at least 205 families displaced in two separate fire incidents in two villages in Cebu and Talisay cities on Christmas Eve.
Fire of still unknown origin gobbled 200 houses at Sitio Cadoldolan, Barangay Lawaan III in Talisay City past 6 p.m. on Dec. 24.
Four hours later, another fire broke out at Lourdes Village in Barangay Punta Princesa in Cebu City, destroying two houses and damaging three others about 10 p.m.
None of the two incidents was caused by firecrackers since investigators believed that these might have been triggered by faulty electrical wiring.
Initial investigation of Talisay City Fire Department showed that the fire started from the house of Ruby dela Concepcion.
SFO2 Sherwin Algoso, the fire investigator,said the house was empty when the fire broke out since Dela Concepcion and her family members were attending a Christmas party.
The fire quickly spread to nearby houses which were made of light materials. The homeowners were also attending Christmas Mass at that time.
The five homeowners in Lourdes Village were also attending Christmas Mass when the fire broke out on the second floor of Lolita Sumicad about 10:30 p.m.