Monster fire destroys 150 houses

PULL OUT. Firefighters and residents pull away from the burning houses at Purok 3, Barangay 23-C Isla Verde in Davao City as the wind shifted toward their direction while pumping water on top of other houses Friday late morning. (Macky Lim)
PULL OUT. Firefighters and residents pull away from the burning houses at Purok 3, Barangay 23-C Isla Verde in Davao City as the wind shifted toward their direction while pumping water on top of other houses Friday late morning. (Macky Lim)

DIANA Ismael, 25, was carrying her one-month-old baby in her arms while seeking temporary shelter at the covered court Friday, August 16, after their house was among the 150 structures that were razed by a massive fire that hit puroks 2 and 3, Isla Verde, Barangay 23-C, Davao City.

Her two other toddlers were with her, too, after her husband dropped them off at the evacuation center so she had no idea how badly the fire damaged their house.

She was only doing the laundry when she learned about the incident. She even thought that it would not affect their house because of the distance and there were already firefighters who responded. But she was wrong. In just a matter of minutes, the fire, fanned by a strong wind, spread quickly in the entire neighborhood.

Ismael was glad they were safe and able to save some of their clothes even though the appliances that her husband, a security guard for five years, invested were destroyed. She said that they will stay with a relative temporarily while rebuilding their house.

Based on the report from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Davao City Central Fire Station, the fire was reported to them at 11:12 a.m. Friday, which is believed to have started at the second floor of the house owned by couple known as Layla and King Elasio.

It was a challenging duty for the firefighters given the narrow streets and residents who did not heed their call not to get near the fire for their safety.

One of the firefighters who responded to the incident said a resident even attempted to grab the hose from them and as much as they want to refuse they could not because the resident seemed ready to attack them any moment if they did not let him.

With the massive damage, the fire reached 4th alarm status and it was only declared under control at 1:37 p.m. but as of writing Friday, the overhauling process was still ongoing.

BFP said that there was no reported injured nor casualty during Friday’s incident. As to the damage, estimated P2,625,000 worth of properties were burned.

Meanwhile, the cause of the fire is still being determined.

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