CEBU CITY, Philippines — Jennifer Wenceslao, 40, was all set to welcome Christmas.
It was only a few minutes before the clock strikes 12 and Wenceslao, a street vendor, was getting ready to greet family members and bedspacers of their house in Sitio Abbia in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.
But she wondered why she could smell burnt rubber even when her housemates were preparing the dishes they were about to share for their Christmas feast.
It turned out that a fire broke in the three-storey building near their house at midnight, December 25.
The fire was put out at 12: 45 a.m.
It is a tragic incident but one that Jennifer and the rest of the Wenceslao family decided to view with a positive spin.
Here are photos of the fire’s aftermath and how Jennifer and her family celebrated Christmas this year:
Firefighters put out the fire that hit Sitio Abbia, Barangay Mambaling in Cebu City at midnight, December 25. | CDND PHOTO/ Gerard Francisco
Fire Officer 2 Emerson Arceo, investigator of the case, says the fire started on the second floor of a three-storey house owned by a certain “Inday.” Fire razed three houses and damaged another on what was supposed to be the happiest time of the year. | CDND PHOTO / Gerard Francisco
By daylight, after Typhoon Ursula passed over Cebu City, this is the sight that greeted house owners and residents of Sitio Abbia in Barangay Mambaling. | CDND PHOTO / Delta Letigio
This man is thinking how the families can recover after the tragedy hit them on Christmas Day. | CDND PHOTO / Delta Letigio
With no roofs above their heads on Christmas, residents were asked, “How are you going to celebrate this season?” | CDND PHOTO / Delta Letigio
The Wenceslao family and their boarders start by salvaging what they can find from the charred remains of the house. | CDND PHOTO / Delta Letigio
On Christmas Day, the Wenceslao family shares a lunch meal with their boarders. They may have lost a house but they still have each other. | CDND PHOTO / Delta Letigio
Despite the tragic incident, Jennifer Wenceslao, a street vendor, says they are blessed because they are all together, alive to celebrate Christmas and stronger to welcome a brand new year. | CDND PHOTO / Delta Letigio
/ celr