Fire victims in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City try to salvage whatever they can from what’s left of their houses. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
A dawn fire yesterday razed four houses and displaced nine families in Katipunan Street, Barangay Labangon, Cebu City.
FO3 Antonio Gonzales of the Cebu City Fire Station estimated the damage to property at P100,000.
Gonzales said the fire might have been caused by an unplugged appliance in the second floor of Saturnino Dinopol’s house.
The fire destroyed the houses of Dinopol, Fortunato Guingone, Gregorio Dionzon and Wilfredo Mepisa and damaged two other houses owned by Luz Telen and Sandra Argazo.
Labangon Barangay Captain Victor Buendia said there were nine families displaced by the fire.
Two of the displaced families were staying in a vacant lot beside the fire area while the others stayed at the Labangon Youth Center building, said Buendia.
He also said that the affected families will have to rebuild their houses on their own because the barangay cannot utilize its calamity fund without a declaration of state of calamity.
He said they cannot declare a state of calamity because there were only a few houses that got destroyed.
According to Gonzales, arson investigator, the fire broke out in Dinopol’s house at 1:46 a.m. and was placed under control 15 minutes later.
Regina Abella, 47, housewife, who lived in one the houses razed by the fire, said she and her family only saved a few things since the fire spread rapidly.
“We made sure that the children will be saved first because the fire was really near,” said Abella, who has seven children, in Cebuano.