Fire strips nearly 40 Day-as houses of all goods

FOR nearly 30 minutes, a fire hit nearly 40 houses in three sitios in Barangay Day-as, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.

It took only 30 minutes for firefighters to declare the blaze under control, but the flames managed to destroy an estimated P2 million worth of properties.

The fire, which hit Sitios Lubi, Moonpeace and Tenderheart of Barangay Day-as, started around 12:51 p.m.

Some parts of Barangay T. Padilla were also reportedly hit, because the fire scene is located on the boundary of T. Padilla and Day-as.

The Bureau of Fire and Protection 7 said the cause of fire will still be investigated.

An initial investigation showed the fire could have started in the house of a 77-year-old resident who allegedly left the kitchen unattended while cooking.

SFO2 Emiliano Daño said the damage to property was initially pegged at almost P2 million.

Over a hundred families were left homeless and were temporarily housed in the Barangay Day-as Complex.

Barangay Day-as Captain Rey Ellery Cañada said they held a special session after the fire in order to speed up the release of the calamity fund.

The barangay also declared a state of calamity.

Cañada said the house of a barangay councilor, Nickelito Binggal, and a barangay health worker, Racquel Goc-ong, were also lost in the fire.

Binggal said they did not save any of their belongings during the fire, since no one was left in the house yesterday. She is thankful that no one was harmed in her family.

One person was reportedly injured during the fire, and suffered minor burns while he tried to save his belongings. The BFP 7 failed to get the victim’s name yesterday.

SFO2 Daño, in an interview with Sun.Star, said they encountered many difficulties during the fire.

Some of the water hydrants were not working in the area, forcing the fire trucks to find other water hydrants nearby.

The houses were also very close to each other, with narrow roads hat were difficult for the fire trucks to enter, said Daño.

All the fire trucks in Cebu City, including the neighboring cities, were supposed to respond to the alarm. Only the water hoses could go through the houses, which also took time.

Some residents tried to save their belongings, then sat on the sidewalks, waiting for the fire to be put out.

Teresa Herrera, 62, who was already half-paralyzed, said that she was lying in bed when she saw the flames already near her.

Herrera, who was alone in their house yesterday, could not walk and was already bedridden.

“Nagpasalamat ko sa among silingan nga nialsa nako pagawas sa amoa. Nasunog na unta ko kung wala ko niya hapita (I thank my neighbor for carrying me out. I would have died had he not dropped by to pick me up),” said Herrera.

Herrera’s house was totally burned.

May Mansueto, who was holding her electric fan and some important documents, was still thankful that her two children, 1 and 3, were saved from the fire.

“Wala na lang ko nanumbaling sa amoang gamit, ako gisiguro ang papeles ug akong duha ka anak (I wanted to make sure the children and my documents were safe. I didn’t pay attention to the other things),” she added.

Mansueto added she reportedly yelled for help but no one helped, as her neighbors were also busy saving their belongings.

Cañada said the barangay shouldered the meals of the survivors yesterday. He added they already received donations from concerned individuals, like clothing and other basic needs.