Residents help fire officials put out a fire in Sitio Capaculan, barangay Tisa, Cebu City on Friday morning, December 31, 2021. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines — An ‘improvised candle’, made up of salt and oil, was likely the cause of the fire in Sitio Capaculan, barangay Tisa here on Friday, December 31, 2021.
This was what fire investigator FO3 Emerson Arceo said after initial investigation of the fire incident that was reported at 8:56 a.m.
Arceo said they are also looking to reports that there were children playing with fire in the area prior to the incident.
The fire investigator said he estimates around 20 to 25 houses that were razed by the morning fire with initial damage to property pegged at P900,000.
The fire was declared under control at 9:24 am and fire out at 9:31 am.
Challenging
Arceo said responding to this alarm was once again a challenge for them because of the narrow roads which can only accommodate small firetrucks.
This was also the same concern they noted in a fire last December 25 in a neighboring sitio (sub village) in the same barangay.
READ: Tisa fire was more than Typhoon Odette
Fire officials have yet to determine the number of individuals affected and injured as of this posting.
CDN Digital, however, was able to notice one individual being treated by medics for wounds but fire officials have yet to gather details about how these wounds were inflicted on a certain Merito dela Cerna, 52.
Arceo is once again reminding the public to avoid fire-igniting factors such as firecrackers and the storing of fuel in one’s house.
Earlier, Chief Inspector Josephus Alburo of the Cebu City Fire Office (CCFO) expressed concern on people who store fuel in their houses due to the aftermath of super typhoon Odette.
Senior Fire Officer (SFO1) Wendell Villanueva said that they recorded 23 fire incidents since the super typhoon hit Cebu on December 16.
On December 30, fire officials here also responded to a fire that hit 17 houses in Sitio Obca 1 in barangay Quiot.
/bmjo