A SITIO in Barangay Basak-San Nicolas, Cebu City is currently under a state of calamity after a fire destroyed 20 houses there on the night of All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, 2019.

Jackilyn Ochia, 25, couldn’t help but cry as she watched her house swallowed by flames that ravaged the Lusimba neighborhood around 7 p.m.

Ochia told Superbalita Cebu that she left her house at noon to visit her deceased loved ones at a Catholic cemetery in Barangay Pardo.

She decided to take advantage of the holidays as her mother, who lives with her, decided to spend vacation at the province.

After her visit to the cemetery, Ochia decided to spend a little time with her friend only to find out hours later that her house was on fire.

At the end of the night, only the clothes she wore were what remained of her belongings.

Cause of blaze

Based on their investigation, personnel from the Cebu City Fire Station believed the fire might have been caused by an unattended candle.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Hermes Molina said the fire started in the house of Boboy del Valle.

Firefighters received the alarm at 7:43 p.m. and raised the fire at second alarm by 8:10 p.m.

The fire was completely doused at 8:33 p.m.

Molina admitted they had problems controlling the fire immediately as it happened in the interior portion of the barangay.

“Even our bigger fire trucks were not able to enter the affected area as there were no roads wide enough for us to reach it,” Molina added.

To quickly douse the fire, firefighters had to connect their hoses so they could reach the sitio’s interior section.

Molina urged residents to double-check their houses before they leave for any possible fire hazards.

On Saturday morning, Barangay Basak-San Nicolas chief Norman Navarro convened his council for a special session to declare a state of calamity in the sitio.

The declaration was necessary for the barangay to release its calamity fund to assist the affected families, Navarro added.

Around 38 families, or roughly 200 individuals, were affected by the fire. FROM BBT OF SUPERBALITA CEBU / JKV