A total of 24 houses caught on fire in Sitio Tugas, Barangay Dumlog, Talisay City, Cebu on Wednesday afternoon, April 24, 2024. | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A fire that hit a residential area in Sitio Tugas, Barangay Dumlog, Talisay City, Cebu on Wednesday, April 24, resulted to the loss of properties pegged to be worth P1.2 million.
Firefighters responded to a fire in the barangay reported at around 5:47 p.m. on Wednesday.
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Upon the arrival of fire trucks at around 5:49 p.m., the fire was raised to the first alarm, which meant that more firetrucks than the at least 2 firetrucks responding to the fire would be needed.
Less than 10 minutes later, it was raised to the second alarm. At 6:09 p.m., the fire has reached the third alarm. For the second alarm, at least four to six firetrucks would be needed to put out the fire.
Responders put the fire under control at around 5:36 and declared a fire out 11 minutes later.
According to a report from the Talisay City Fire Station, the blaze started from the house of a 75-year-old resident named Tita Jimenez.
However, the house was occupied by her children and Jimenez was living in a different house.
It also said that a total of 24 houses were affected with 18 being totally burned and 6 only partially burned.
The total damage was estimated by fire officials to be worth P1,200,000.
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The fire incident affected 23 families or around 105 individuals, according to the latest count by authorities.
Fortunately, no one was reported to have sustained injuries due to the incident.
As of this writing, the fire victims have temporarily taken shelter at the Dumlog gymnasium with tents set up for each family.
In an interview with CDN Digital on Thursday, April 25, Jimenez recounted the incident that was believed to have originated from the house she owned.
Jimenez, who had difficulty walking on her own, said that it was her grandson who notified her that the nearby house was burning.
The grade 12 student coincidentally came to her house at the time to charge his cellphone when he saw the flames.
Immediately so, he hoisted her up and led her to safety.
Jimenez also said that while they were unsure what caused the fire, she heard that it started because of a problem related to electricity.
As of this writing, an investigation is being conducted by Talisay fire officials to determine what caused the residential fire in the barangay.
Meanwhile, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas said on his social media page that they would be providing necessities such as hot meals, sleeping kits, hygiene kits, and dining kits to the fire victims.
In addition, they have set up a medical station offering free medicines to the residents and social workers are tasked to conduct psychosocial interventions.
Gullas assured that the local government would be doing everything they can do to alleviate the sufferings of the fire victims.