A FIRE that left some 120 persons homeless also killed a couple that got trapped in their home in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City in the early hours of Independence Day.
The Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP) 7 received the alarm about the fire in Sitio Sto. Niño, Barangay Labangon, Cebu City at 1:27 a.m. and firefighters declared the flames under control at 2:25 a.m.
But while it took under an hour to keep the fire from spreading, the couple Margarita, 57, and Edgardo Miego, 60, were trapped inside their home.
Edgardo had required a wheelchair to move around. Both he and his wife were found inside their room.
At least 21 houses burned down, while two were damaged. Six were reportedly injured while trying to put out the fire.
Damage to property was estimated at P800,000, including a multicab that belonged to the Miego couple.
BFP 7 investigator Emiliano Daño said the firefighters found it difficult to reach the fire scene because it was in an interior portion.
Bigger fire trucks had to park away from the scene, and firefighters connected their hoses to reach the flames. Some mini-fire trucks that arrived earlier managed to get closer than the others.
Daño said the fire could have started in the Miegos’ living room, right outside their bedroom.
“Ang ilang kwarto naa sa ground floor, inig gawas nila sala na dayon. Mao tong wala na sila kagawas (Their bedroom opened out into the sala, and the flames kept them from coming out),” said Daño.
Margarita and Edgardo’s youngest daughter, Jolly Ann, was sleeping on the second floor when she noticed the blaze.
Jolly Ann and her husband jumped from the balcony on the second floor to get out of the house, because the flames downstairs blocked their way.
They escaped safely.
The fire spread to the houses located across the Miego property and did so easily, because many of the houses were built of light materials.
But the houses beside the Miego home were spared because these were protected by firewalls.
Lanie Angeles, one of the residents whose house the fire leveled, said she woke up to someone shouting about the fire. She looked outside and was surprised to see the Miego house across the street, by then already in flames.
She said the flames quickly spread to her family’s house. They lost most of their belongings, including all their clothes, most of the children’s school supplies and important documents.
City Fire Marshall William Tacaldo said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The City Government’s Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) listed some 28 families or 120 individuals who were left homeless by the fire.
Labangon Barangay Captain Vic Buendia said the survivors will be temporarily housed in the barangay complex. Some opted to stay in the chapel located near the fire scene.
Food and other basic needs of the survivors were also temporarily shouldered by the barangay.