CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government has listed 62 families consisting of 256 individuals as among those who were displaced after the Friday evening, November 1, 2019, fire burned homes in Sitio Lusimba in Barangay Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City.
Most of the fire victims are now taking temporary shelter at the St. Arnold Jansen Church that is located just across the street from the fire site.
Senior Fire Officer 2 (SFO2) Hermes Molina of the Cebu City Fire Department said that the fire was said to have been caused by unattended candles at the residence of a certain Buboy Del Valle. But Molina said they are yet to conduct a follow investigation to verify said reports.
The second alarm fire was placed under control at 8:33 p.m. before it was finally put out at 10:38 p.m.
Most catholics light candles outside of their homes on the evening of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days to provide light to the visiting souls of their departed loved ones.
BFP officials are asking Cebuanos to be cautious when lighting candles to prevent a repeat of the Basak San Nicolas fire.
Jeffrey Ybones, head of the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), said they listed a total of 44 homes that were burned and damaged by the Friday night fire which left 62 families consisting of 256 individuals homeless. Of the fire-affected homes, 41 were completely burned while three others were damaged by the fire.
Ybones said that the number of affected families may still increase since some of the house owners may still be visiting their provinces for the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day celebrations.
DSWS, he said, will continue to update their list to make sure that all the fire victims are accounted for. Their list will also be used as basis in the release of City Hall assistance.
Since this morning, November 2, DSWS already started the distribution of packed meals to the fire victims. Distribution of free meals will continue for three days. / dcb
Photos below were taken by CDN Digital Photographer Gerard Vincent Francisco.
