A fire in a residential area in Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City at past 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, razed properties worth P1.5 million. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The 3 Cebu fires that struck Cebu on Tuesday burned over P2.4 million worth of properties and left over 400 individuals homeless.
On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, firetrucks can be heard blazing through the streets of Cebu City and Talisay City as they responded to 3 separate fires.
At around 11:14 a.m. on Tuesday, a fire was reported in a residential area in Sitio Atisan, Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City.
READ: Fire kills 4, injures 9 in Tinago, Cebu City
It was placed under control at past 12:00 p.m. and a fire out was declared only 20 minutes later.
According to Senior Fire Officer 1 (SFO1) Junriel Siaboc of the Talisay City Fire Station, the incident resulted to the loss of properties pegged at around P1,500,000.
He also said that the 14-year-old child of Wilson Nabuca, the owner of the house where the blaze started, sustained a minor burn on the chest during the incident.
Among the affected houses, 93 were totally burned and only one was partially damaged, stated Siaboc.
A total of 123 families or 481 individuals were left homeless because of the incident and were evacuated to the Cansojong basketball gym.
Another evacuation center was reportedly set up inside the Borromeo Brothers Elementary School in the barangay where other victims are now staying temporarily.
Siaboc added that they are still investigating the cause of the fire, as of this writing.
A few hours later, another fire erupted in Phase 1, Villa Leyson in Bacayan, Cebu City where a house was burned down.
READ: Cebu City fires: Over 300 incidents, P4-billion worth of damages in 2023
The fire reportedly started at around 5:32 p.m., according to a report from the Cebu City Fire Station, and was raised to the first alarm upon the arrival of firefighters at 5:37 p.m.
Fortunately, it did not take long for firefighters to successfully subdue the flames. At 6:01 p.m., a fire out was officially declared.
The owner of the only house that was affected was identified as Paz Blanco, who reportedly suffered a first degree burn in the process.
Blanco’s house was totally burned with total damages estimated at P960,000, stated a report from the Cebu City Fire Station.
Only a few minutes after the Bacayan fire was put out, black smoke were seen coming from a residential area in Barangay Tinago, Cebu City.
Firetrucks arrived at the area at around 5:59 p.m. and a fire out was quickly declared.
The fire allegedly started at the residence of Lolita Bizarre. Fortunately, no one was reported to have sustained injuries.
According to another report, only one family or 3 individuals were affected by the fire incident in the barangay.
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Bizarre’s house was reported to be only partially burned and the damages were pegged at P6,000.
Senior Fire Officer 2 (SFO2) Windell Villanueva, information officer of the CCFS, told CDN Digital in a phone interview on Wednesday, March 20, that the investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the two Cebu City fires.
The total damages to properties caused by the 3 fires reached P2,466,000, fire officials said.
On Wednesday morning, Talisay City Mayor Samsam Gullas visited the victims at the evacuation center. The mayor said the city will provide hot meals to the victims until Friday morning, when the financial assistance is expected to be distributed.
On his official Facebook page, Gullas said that the fire victims will be provided with sleeping kits, hygiene kits, and kitchen utensils while they are staying at the evacuation center.