FOUR houses were damaged by a fire that broke out early morning at a private dumpsite in barangay Umapad, Mandaue City.
Fire investigators said an unidentified person left a fire burning in an open field which spread and burned nearby houses. Damages were pegged at P5,000.
FO3 Denis Avila of the Mandaue City Fire Department said an Umapad resident called the Bantay Mandaue Command Center at 5 a.m. to report the fire incident in a private dumpsite located in Zone Tambis, barangay Umapad.
Avila said firetrucks were immediate dispatched into the area. Resident Lolita Libradia said she heard an explosion from Dolores Hortelano’s house which was first hit by the fire.
Hortelano told fire investigators that they noticed that their house made of light materials already caught fire and they went out of the house.
She said she already called the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) to report the incident.
CENRO staffer Placido Jerusalem said it’s difficult for them to apprehend people who start burning garbage outside because it occurred in a privately owned lot.