| Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The number of fire-affected families in Sitio Superior in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City increased to 120 during the validation that was conducted by the city government this Monday, December 7.
As of 12 noon, the City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS) office listed a total of 96 burnt homes that used to be occupied by 120 families. The Sunday night fire left 574 individuals homeless.
Read: Mandaue fire displaces more than 500 individuals
Senior Fire Officer 2 (SFO2) Edgar Vergara of the Mandaue City Fire Department said that the fire was traced to have started from a spark that residents saw at a nearby electric post.
“Possible overload tungod pasko, daghan series ang mga tagbalay. Labi na ang balay-balay diri nagconnect ra pod sa poste,” Vergara said.
(We do not discount the possibility of an overload since many of the residents are using Christmas decors, series lights. Many of the homes in the area are connected to the electric post.)
Vergara said that congestion and the lack of an access road caused delays in their efforts to immediately put out the fire that broke at 10:12 p.m. on Sunday.
Damage to properties was pegged at P1.4 million.
Looc barangay captain Allan Siazon said the fire victims are now staying at their gymnasium and the nearby elementary school.
Siazon said that he is calling an emergency Council meeting to declare Sitio Superior under a state of calamity to facilitate the release of their calamity funds to aid the fire victims. / dcb