Blaze destroys 10 houses in San Roque, Talisay City

Friday, February 3, 2012

TEN houses were razed when a fire struck a family compound in Sitio Kabayo-an Uno, Barangay San Roque, Talisay City before noon yesterday.

No one was reported injured, but the blaze reportedly gutted “P300,000” worth of properties.

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Strong winds fanned the flames that destroyed the houses, which were made of light materials.

A five-room apartment and two houses nearby were also damaged.

SFO2 Felipe Abarquez of Talisay City Fire Department told Sun.Star Cebu they received the alarm at 11:47 a.m. but the fire was declared under control after 20 minutes.

Fire trucks from Cebu City also aided in the operations, which was raised to a first alarm.

Narrow alleys and curious onlookers prevented firefighters from quickly putting out the flames in the densely populated area where houses were closely built.

Start of fire

Based on initial investigation, the blaze allegedly originated from the house of Jojo Ornopia, a lending collector.

Ornopia, 35, said he wasn’t around at that time when the fire broke out. He was helping his wife Maria Gina, 30, in their eatery in Mandaue City.

Their three children were spared and are now in the care of their grandparents.

The three children were at school when the fire broke.

Ornopia’s paralyzed mother-in-law, Virginia, 60, was the last person seen to leave the house.

An electrical short circuit is being looked into as the cause of the fire.

While some residents secured their possessions, a woman made sure the images of the Holy Child Jesus and Blessed Virgin Mary were the first things she saved from the fire.

“Bahala nalang ng mga butang. Makonsensiya gyud ko kung nasunog pa ni sila (Never mind the material things. My conscience would bother me if these images burned down),” the mother-of-six said while holding the images.

House lost

Her family lost their two-storey house that was across from where the fire started.

Maru, 43, recalled that her child Maricris was pronounced dead by doctors during delivery, but she survived and was called a “miracle baby.”

She added that Maricris was also diagnosed with leukemia when she was eight years old, yet she managed to stay alive. She is now 20.

At the fire site, some residents complained that unidentified thieves stole their belongings.

A pig that wasn’t spared by the fire, meanwhile, was slaughtered and shared by the affected families.

Packed food and clothes were given temporarily as aid by the Talisay City Government’s Department of Social Welfare and Services.