CEBU CITY, Philippines -Fire authorities in Cebu City have began looking into the Christmas morning fire that razed 200 houses and displaced at least 500 individuals in Barangay Duljo Fatima.
Cebu City Fire Marshall Noel Abapon said that their investigation would focus on conflicting accounts as to where the fire started.
SFO1 Peter Caburnay, Bureau of Fire investigator, said that the fire may have started in the house of Rene Agwanta, 67, from Sitio Buli.
Agwanta denied the fire began in his house and claimed it started in the house of his neighbor Honey Gadiane.
However, he admitted that the Gadiane house has been empty for the last two months and he did not notice anyone in the house before the fire started.
Read related story: 200 houses razed in a Christmas morning fire in Duljo Fatima in Cebu City
In the compound where Agwanta lived, there were four houses, including his. Three of the houses were unoccupied.
Agwanta said that he woke up at dawn to the screams of his wife who saw the fire coming from the house of Gadiane.
In an attempt to save his properties, Agwanta suffered a first degree burn on his shoulders.
Duljo Fatima Barangay Captain Elmer Abella told Cebu Daily News that he was inclined to believe that the fire indeed started at Agwanta’s house.
“How can a fire start from an empty house? It must be from Rene’s house,” said the village chief.
Caburnay said that the fire may have been caused by faulty electrical wirings but they were still investigating other possible causes.