MORE than 600 families, or 2,578 individuals, were displaced while five persons were injured after a fire struck three sitios in Barangay Ermita, Cebu City Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 5.
According to Ermita Barangay Captain Efe Rupinta, the fire that raged through Sitios Bato, Pig Vendor and Castilaan for almost three hours razed 273 houses.
Damage to properties was estimated at around P3 million.
The fire broke out at 1:15 p.m. Four minutes later, it was raised to second alarm. At 1:26 p.m., it was raised to Task Force Alpha. The fire was raised to Task Force Bravo at 1:33 p.m. By 2:12 p.m, a general alarm was raised, which meant all available fire trucks from other districts had to respond.
“A fire truck from Sogod in the north and a fire truck from Argao in the south arrived to help put out the flames,” said SFO3 Emiliano Daño, Cebu City Bureau of Fire Protection investigator on duty.
The fire was reported under control at 3:07 pm.
The Bureau of Fire Protection 7 declared “fire out” at 8:27 p.m.
The injured civilians were identified as Worky Cerelles, 40, who suffered first-degree burns on both arms; Wendell Tacoloy, 31, who suffered lacerations in his thumb; Ricmar Ando, 33, who suffered lacerations in his right foot; Vincent Amahan, 30; and Jommel Milan, 14.
Daño said they had a hard time putting out the fire because the affected area was congested.
“Pero ang problema ang atong mga fire truck ang mga tubig nagsupot-supot g’yod kay nag engine relay ra ta, pasa-pasa sa tubig (But the problem was the water pressure since we had to conduct an engine relay),” he said.
According to Wikipedia, a fire engine relay “is supplying water from a supply/source to a destination through hose using multiple pumps to maintain constant pressure.”
In a separate interview, Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) operations chief Genevieve Alcoseba said the fire scene needed an additional road right-of-way.
Firefighters had a hard time penetrating the interior portion of Sitio Bato since their only access was the road behind Units I and II of the Carbon Public Market.
Alcoseba said they would check the reblocking that was implemented in the area in 2013 after a huge fire broke out in Sitio Bato.
Daño said Tuesday’s fire allegedly started on the second floor of the house owned by a certain Ronron Sarmiento.
Neighbor Victoria Obaob, 53, said Sarmiento’s five-year-old child was last seen playing with matches. She said the child and the child’s rescuer were rushed to the hospital because both reportedly suffered burns.
However, Jacky Espinosa, Sarmiento’s live-in partner, denied the allegation that the fire started in their house.
“When I arrived, only our terrace was on fire. But the house of Myrna Miro Cerello was engulfed in flames,” she said in Cebuano.
She also denied that their child was taken to the hospital.
“My child went to my mother’s house in Barangay Pasil because I think my child was traumatized by the incident,” she added.
Rupinta said affected residents had been evacuated.
“Our evacuation areas are the Ermita Sports Complex and the City Central School-Ermita Extension. We already made arrangements even before ‘fire out’ was declared,” Rupinta said.
The barangay official urged the public to help fire survivors. Donations may be dropped at the barangay hall or the gym, Rupinta said.
As of 4 p.m., representatives of the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 were still finalizing the list of survivors.
According to a Visayan Electric Company (Veco) advisory, residents whose houses were damaged or destroyed should secure a fire marshal report from the Bureau of Fire Protection and submit this to the nearest Veco service center. Those whose houses were not affected by the fire but currently do not have electricity were advised to visit the nearest Veco service center.
Residents were advised to bring their latest electric bill as proof.
Last May, 302 houses were gutted by an early morning fire that struck Sitio Kawit, near Sitio Bato, also in Barangay Ermita. Two persons died and 758 families were displaced.
In 2013, two persons died after fire razed nearly 300 houses in Sitio Bato.
Below are videos and photos taken during the incident.
(Wenilyn Sabalo, USJ-R intern/RVC/SunStar Cebu)