Cebu City fire leaves 98 families homeless; survivors recount traumatic experience
A dawn fire destroys 38 houses in Sitio Amor, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City, on October 19, 2019. The fire claimed the life of a teenage girl and displaced 340 individuals. | CDND PHOTO / Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines —While the rest of Cebu City was sound asleep at 2:35 a.m. of Saturday, October 19, residents of Sitio Amor, Barangay Sambag 1 were saving their family members and grabbing whatever they can salvage as a huge fire enveloped most of their homes.
The fire was declared under control at 4:59 a.m. or more than two hours since it started.
Left with smoke and remnants of what used to be their homes, the residents later found out that the dawn fire claimed the life of a teenage girl, razed 38 houses and displaced at least 98 families consisting of 340 adults and children.
Jessel Amores woke up to the sound of her nine-month-old baby’s cry when she noticed a commotion outside of her house.
READ: Cebu City fire claims life of a 14-year-old girl, razes 32 houses
Amores’ partner checked what was happening outside. To his horror, he saw a massive fire burning their neighbors’ houses.
When she realized what was happening, Amores screamed the word “sunog” repeatedly to awaken their neighbors while she woke up her children and told them to hurry so they can run toward safer ground.
Unfortunately, Amores’ scream was not loud enough to awaken 14-year-old, Dawn Therese Awi.
Awi was sound asleep inside her father’s home in the midst of all the chaos.
Casualty
Awi, a Grade 9 high school student of Southwestern University, was declared by the fire department as the lone casualty of the incident.
Senior Fire Officer 3 Oliver Tautho, said Awi may have been sleeping with earphones on her ears which could be the reason why she did not hear the screams of her neighbor.
The victim, according to Tautho, was alone in the house as his father and aunt were working on graveyard shifts.
“Wala ko kabalo naa pa diay ang bata didto (I did not know that the child was still inside the house),” said a teary-eyed Amored.
Amores feels guilty about not saving Awi especially that she personally knows the teenage girl.
Musical instruments
Victims shared different heartbreaking stories of the fire.
Vermillion “Vergie” Sotto, 64, and her family helped in putting out the fire when it started.
They were focused on helping put out the fire that they did not notice that it already ravaged their house.
Destroyed in the fire are musical instruments consisting of guitars and a drum set owned by the Sotto family.
A family of musicians, Sotto said she is thankful that everyone is safe but her heart grieves for the musical instruments that she loves dearly.
Sotto’s family members were the first persond to notice the fire that started in the house of a certain Jano Flores.
Tautho said initial investigation points to an unplugged appliance that may have overheated and caused the fire.
Sotto, who grew up in the place until she had her own family, said this is the first time in 60 years that their community experienced a fire.
“Careful man gyud kaayo mi sa tanan. Careful kaayo mi sa sunog, careful kaayo mi sa basura,” said Sotto.
(We are always careful. We are careful not about not causing fire… we are careful with our trash.)
With tears streaming down her face, Sotto said she could not yet decide what kind of government assistance they need.
For now, Sotto said they just want the government to know that they are homeless and are left with almost nothing.
Assistance
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella who visited the area, initially told reporters that the city government will give P20,000 for the owners of the 38 houses.
But as of Saturday afternoon, October 19, a representative of the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) was still verifying the list of the residents, who lost their homes as part of the process for the financial help the victims would be receiving.
Cecil Pasay of DSWS said the instruction they received was to make sure that the fire victims are served packed meals at the barangay’s sports complex, which also serves as the evacuation center.
She said serving of packed meals will go on in the next three days.
On the third day, Pasay said the victims will receive relief goods and housing materials as part of the assistance from the government. / celr
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