Fireman train their hose on burning houses in barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.(CDN/ TONEE DESPOJO)
MORE than 100 families were left homeless after a late afternoon fire broke out in a thickly populated community in barangay Mambaling in Cebu City last Friday, June 26.
Some distraught residents fetched canal water and poured this on burning houses, hoping to prevent the fire from further spreading.
Three sitios – Tugas, Mangga and delos Reyes – were affected.
Barangay councilor Arturo Belciña said access was a problem in the area. Access roads barely a meter wide made it impossible for fire trucks to enter the area.
Fire victims were temporarily accommodated at the two barangay gyms located in sitio Alaska, near the barangay hall last night.
Parts of Mambaling were left in the dark as the fire also destroyed electric lines and damaged utility posts.
City fire marshal Rogelio Bongabong said 100 to 150 structures were destroyed.
The fire was tapped at 5:28 p.m. Sparks from an electric post reportedly fell on a shanty owned by a certain Hazel Seballo in sitio Tugas.
The blaze immediately spread to shanties in sitios Mangga and delos Reyes. It was put out at about 6:35 p.m., or an hour and five minutes later.
“Shanties were located in the interior (portion) of the barangay and were made of light materials, causing the fire to immediately spread,” said Bongabong in an interview with radio dyAB.
Betty Sison, 53, a resident of sitio Mangga, said she hurriedly led her three grandchildren to safety.
“We evacuated immediately. My grandchildren were crying out of fear,” she said in Cebuano.
She said some of her belongings got stolen in the confusion.
“This is what’s wrong with other people. They steal even from fire victims,” she said.
The affected area is located about 100 meters away from the main road and close to the University of Cebu Mambaling Campus.
Most of the responding fire trucks came from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and other neighboring localities. These were positioned at the Mambaling access road of the South Road Properties (SRP) to bring them to within striking distance of the fire site.
Other firemen climbed the roofs of nearby structures to bring their water hoses closer to the fire area.
“The fire stresses the need to already reblock the area,” said barangay councilor Belciña./With UP Cebu Intern Mary Claire U. Catado