Friday, April 25, 2008 1 hurt, P700T lost in Guadalupe fire
SOME P700,000 worth of property were destroyed in a fire that hit an interior portion of V. Rama Ave. in Sitio Iha in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City yesterday.
A resident identified as Ivan Navotas, 22, was hurt in the foot during the incident.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Cebu City received the call for assistance at 6:05 a.m. The fire was raised to third alarm before firefighters declared it under control.
It took the BFP personnel 32 minutes to put out the fire, saying the limited access to the road kept them from getting to the fire scene sooner.
Seven houses were destroyed while another one was damaged, leaving at least 10 families homeless.
According to the initial information gathered by investigator-on-duty FO3 Antonio Gonzales, the fire started at the house owned by Rudy Lariosa.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated but initially, the fire department is looking into the possibility that a kerosene lamp that was left unattended started the blaze.
SFO2 Felix Romero, also a fire investigator, said that Lariosa does not have electricity connection in his house. Lariosa reportedly used a kerosene lamp.
In a TV Patrol Cebu report, Lariosa claimed that he was not at home when the fire broke out.
He said he failed to go home the night before the incident because he fell asleep on the road. He was reportedly drunk the night before the incident.
The Cebu City Fire Department will invite witnesses to help in the investigation. (JST)
