Mandaue fire displaces 130 families, destroys 70 homes
Mandaue City firefighters train their hoses on houses gutted by fire in barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)
ABOUT 130 families were displaced by a fire that destroyed 70 houses in Zones Batong and Talong in barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City at 3 p.m. yesterday.
The Mandaue City Fire Station received the alarm at 3 p.m. and put out the fire 40 minutes later.
No one was hurt and damage were pegged at P1 million since there were homes that were built with light materials and those with concrete.
Mandaue City Fire Marshal Senior Insp. Joel Abarquez said they had just come from Basak Pardo, Cebu City where they helped Cebu City firefighters put out a fire in that area when they received the alarm.
He said the narrow roads and the crowd of panicked residents who tried to save their belongings delayed their entry to the fire site.
Abarquez said they also had to put out a grass fire that broke out at the Mandaue Reclamation area near the Cebu International Convention Center before going to Paknaan.
“There was zero visibility at Ouano Avenue and it posed a danger to motorists,” Abarquez said.
He said they requested assistance from nearby areas to put out the fire.
He said witnesses told him that the fire came from the house of a certain Rona Vi Zamora.
Neighbors rescued the two children sleeping inside Zamora’s room as she was not in the house at that time.
The Paknaan barangay council met last night to declare the two areas under calamity status to facilitate the release of funds for their constituents.
Tents were provided to the victims while the barangay gym is offered for the others.
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