Cebu City fire claims life of a 14-year-old girl, razes 32 houses

Fire officials inspect the scene of the fire that hit Sitio Amor, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City at 2:35 a.m. of Saturday, October 19, 2019. |CDND Photo/Gerard Vincent Francisco

CEBU CITY, Philippines —  A 14-year-old girl died while at least 32 houses were burned down in a two-hour fire that hit a residential area in Sitio Amor, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City at 2:35 a.m. today, Saturday, October 19, 2019.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Richard Sacedon, of the Cebu City Fire Department, identified the fatality as Dawn Therese Awi, a high school student at a university in the city.

The fire victims are currently given shelter at the adjoining Cebu City Sports Center  but their exact number is still being assessed by the city’s team of social workers.

The fire might have started inside a private compound due to an unattended appliance, said Sacedon.

The appliance that possibly overheated ignited a fire that immediately spread  to nearby houses, he added.

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“Ang dalan pa gyud perting huota, tawo ra gyuy maka agi,” said Sacedon.

(The road inside the area was also narrow that only one person could pass by.)

Rescuers carry out the body of Dawn Therese Awi, 14, from one of the houses razed by a fire that hit Sitio Amor, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City at 2:35 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. |CDND Photo/ Gerard Vincent Francisco

Sacedon said this might be the reason why no one noticed that the girl was not able to come out of her room when the fire broke out.

It was only after four hours since the fire was placed under control that the body of the girl was found from among the burned houses. 

A firefighter inspects what is left of a house, which is among the 32 houses razed by a fire that hit Sitio Amor, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City a 2:35 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019.|CDND Photo/Gerard Vincent Francisco

According to Sacedon, the fire also damaged the audio room and props room of the adjoining Cebu City Sports Center. 

The estimated cost of damages was placed at P320,000.

Burned down cans that used to hold plants are all that are left following a 2-hour fire in Sitio Amor, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City a 2:35 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. |CDND Photo / Gerard Vincent Francisco

Sacedon said the second alarm was raised at around 2:46 a.m. and was raised to third alarm 11 minutes later, at 2:57 a.m.

Firefighters were able to put the fire under control two hours later at around 4:59 a.m. and declared fire out just this morning, at 8:25 a.m. /elb