Photo courtesy of Bantay Mandaue – CDRRMO
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – A total of 349 individuals were displaced in the fire that hit a residential area in Sitio Orel in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City in the afternoon of Easter Sunday, April 9.
Senior Fire Officer 1 (SFO1) Filward Morales, investigator of the Mandaue City Fire Department, said the fire burned 47 homes and damaged three others.
The total damage caused by the fire was pegged at P700, 000.
Morales said the fire started from a spark in service drop line that leads to the Sitio Orel.
“Kay light materials man, nikatag dayOn. Gitry nila og extinguish but wala na gyud madala. Nanagana pod sila kay kuryente niya sabligan og tubig,” said Morales.
(Since houses in the area were made of light materials, the fire quickly spread. Residents tried to extinguish the fire but it was already too late. They were also having second thoughts about splashing water into the electric wires.)
Morales said the fire alarm was reported at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The second alarm fire was said to have started at the residence of a certain Wilma Maribao where the spark on the service drop line was first seen. It later on spread to nearby homes.
It was put out almost two hours later or at 3:45 p.m.
Divina Canales, one of the fire victims, said that the fire spread so fast that they were unable to save their belongings. All that they managed to bring with them were a washing machine and some clothes that were hanged to dry outside of their residence.
The fire victims, including Canales, are now staying at the Banilad National High School.
Personnel of the City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS) office already started the distribution of food packs and disaster kits to the fire victims.
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