A PAIL OF WATER FOR A RAGING MONSTER. A resident of Barangay Lower Kamputhaw pours water on the roof of his house as a means of protection against the approaching inferno that has eaten away his neighbors’ homes. CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
AT LEAST 80 houses were burned in an afternoon fire which hit a densely populated area in Purok 3, Lower Kamputhaw, Cebu City, on Saturday.
Fire Chief Insp. Noel Ababon, head of the Cebu City Fire Department, said that the fire was believed to have started at the second floor of the residence of a certain Emma Quan that is being occupied by Roxanne Limbagan.
Renante Vanguardia, admin aide of the Social Welfare Services of Cebu City, said that the blaze also affected 715 individuals. They are now temporarily housed at the Camputhaw gym.
No casualties were reported but damage to property was pegged at P900,000.
Fire fighters are yet to determine the actual cause of the blaze which spread to neighboring homes that were also made of light materials.
But they do not discount the possibility of wire tapping as possible cause of the fire that was reported at 3:50 p.m.
The fire was put out an hour and 22 minutes later or shortly after it was raised to third alarm at 4:05 p.m.
Ababon said that yesterday’s strong winds and the difficulty to penetrate the densely populated area made it difficult for firefighters to immediately put out the blaze.
He said that they had to connect their hoses to reach the fire site that is located in the interior part of Barangay Camputhaw or around 100 meters from Escario Street. The area is located at the back of the barangay hall.
Personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) are currently doing their listing and verification of fire victims.
Meanwhile, almost four hours after the Camputhaw fire was put under control, another blaze broke out in Sitio Kasipag, Barangay Buhisan, Cebu City.
The fire alarm was received at 7:55 p.m. and was raised to third alarm after an hour.
The fire was declared under control at 8:26 p.m. However, no additional information was made available as of press time last night.