MORE than 63 houses were razed in a fire that hit Purok 3 Lower, Sitio Lupa, Barangay Kamputhaw and Sitio Casipag in the mountain barangay of Buhisan, Cebu City yesterday.

Some 60 houses were burned by the fire in Kamputhaw.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7 received the alarm at 3:50 p.m. It was raised to a third alarm at 4:05 p.m.

“The close-packed houses, small roads and strong winds made it hard for our firefighters to directly hit the fire with water. Even the light rain wasn’t able to help in extinguishing the fire that much,” said Cebu City Fire Marshall Noel Nelson Ababon.

The fire was placed under control at 5:12 p.m. and was traced to the second floor of the house owned by Emma Limbaga Kwan, which her daughter Roxanne occupied, Ababon said.

Sitio Lupa is one of the biggest sitios in the barangay.

The fire’s damage was pegged at P900,000.

Ababon said that they have yet to determine what caused the fire.

Residents say it might be illegal tapping of electricity or an unattended candle or stove.

“We have yet to determine what caused the blaze. However, we already invited five witnesses to our office so that we can progress in our investigation,” Ababon said.

Since most of the houses were made of light materials, Ababon said the fire spread quickly to the neighboring houses with the strong winds fanning it.

All units of the fire department in Cebu City responded to the blaze as well as the Mandaue and Talisay Filipino Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade.

About 20 to 30 firetrucks helped put out the fire.

Mark Casicas, executive officer of Barangay Kamputhaw, said that Purok 3 Lower has many residents.

In Buhisan, a fire hit three houses in Sitio Casipag.

BFP 7 received the alarm at 7:55 p.m. It was placed under control at 8:17 p.m.

The fire was traced to the house owned by Elena Lazarte.

Damage to property reached P100,000. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined. JOB