Lahug fire victims try to save the still useful items from their burned homes./CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Susana Servise, 60, had just left her home in Sitio Drihoa in Barangay Lahug on her way to her catechism duties at the Lahug Elementary School when a fire broke in their area past 8 a.m. today, April 22.
Servise, treasurer of the Dri Waterbed Home Owners Association (Drihoa), said she froze when she saw the fire already burning homes located along the pathway that leads to her house.
Burning homes were located at least four houses away from her own shanty.
Service said she froze in fear at the sight of the burning homes and neighbors who were screaming for help. She was lucky that a relative, who is also a neighbor, pulled her to safety otherwise, she could have suffocated from the thick black smoke coming from the burning homes.
Read More: At least 17 houses razed in Lahug fire
“Kalit man gud unya sikit-sikit baya ang balay. Pag tan-aw namo kay ni ulbo naman diri (It was very sudden and houses here are located close to each other. When I went out of my house, the fire was already there),” said Servise while pointing at the residence of her neighbor Raffy Rapsing, where the fire was believed to have started.
While she, her husband and son were unharmed, they lost their home to the fire which broke at around 8:25 a.m.
Servise said that they were unable to save any of their belongings including very important documents of the home owners association that were in her possession. Her husband already left for work in a printing press in Cebu City when the fire broke.
Read More: Scenes from the Lahug fire
The Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) and Lahug barangay personnel recorded a total of 14 fire-affected houses. Of these, 11 were totally damaged while the two others were partially damaged.
The fire left at least 24 families consisting of 150 individuals homeless.
Lahug Barangay Captain Hazel Muaña told CDN Digital in a phone interview that the fire victims will be asked to temporarily take shelter at a vacant lot located just beside the fire site.
“Amo man gi konsulta ganiha sa mga biktima, they opt nga adto nalang gyud didto kay duol ra. Ma tan-aw pa nila (ang ila balay para) mang limpyo (we consulted with the fire victims and they opted to stay in the area because it was closure to their homes. If they are closure, they can already start to clean their areas),” said Muaña.
Muaña said that barangay will provide fire victims with housing materials so they could already start to rebuild their homes as soon as the barangay council is able to declare a state of calamity in the area.
She added that the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) will also implement reblocking there as soon as possible to either widen the existing access road or to open an even bigger road. /dcb