Iloilo fire razes 54 houses, kills 3

A FIRE that hit Barangay Rizal Ibarra in Iloilo City on Tuesday razed 54 houses and left three children dead, the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) reported.

CSWD Officer Alfredo Villanueva said 81 families, or 270 persons living in the barangay were also rendered homeless after the fire that broke out around 3 p.m. Tuesday and lasted for 45 minutes.

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The dead victims identified as Roxie Ledesma, 4; Jonaireh Ledesma, 5; and Kyle Dumalag, 4, were found by responding firemen, Villanueva added.

Those who were rendered homeless are now staying at the barangay basketball court. They were provided with food and other items donated by Iloilo City residents.

Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog commended fire marshall Chief Inspector Rodolfo Denaga for immediately responding to the incident and leading the clearing operation as ground commander.

Last week, Mabilog was reportedly at odd with Denaga, as the latter reportedly responded late to a fire incident in Aldeguer street.

The city mayor castigated Denaga for not being able to supervise the firefighting properly.

But Mabilog, after Tuesday's incident, said the immediate response of the city firemen showed that they can do it without being pushed by the chief executive. (LCP)