CEBU CITY, Philippines—A ceiling fan that exploded started the fire that burned seven houses in Sitio Mahilum, Barangay Basak San Nicolas in Cebu City on Tuesday morning, September 24, 2019.
Senior Fire Officer 3 Oliver Tautho, the lead investigator of the case, said that the fire started in the house of a Madelyn Numera at around 8:21 a.m. It burned down seven houses in less than 30 minutes.
Read: Images from the fire scene in Baranagay San Nicolas, Cebu City
Numero told the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) that their ceiling fan exploded, sparking the fire.
Fire fighters work to put out a fire in Barangay San Nicolas in Cebu City on Tuesday morning, September 24, 2019. CDN Digital photo | Gerard Vincent Francisco
The fire was raised to second alarm at 8:27 a.m., and was further raised to third alarm at 8:30 a.m. The fire was eventually put out at 8:55 a.m.
Tautho said it was necessary to raise the fire to third alarm because the sitio was a densely populated residential area.
Aside from the seven houses burned, another house was also partially affected.
BFP said the fire destroyed an estimated P70, 000 worth of properties.
No one was reported hurt in the incident. /bmjo