A COUPLE’s quarrel was allegedly the cause of the fire the resulted in razing to ground 202 shanties last Wednesday evening, April 28, at Block 8 and 9, Muslim Village in Barangay Ilang, Davao City.
In the initial report of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), a certain Joseph (real name withheld for his protection) arrived home drunk. His wife, seemingly irritated, argued with him that resulted in a fight.
Joseph then took gasoline and poured it into their house before setting it on fire.
The fire immediately spread to neighboring houses, which were mostly made of light materials.
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Davao City Fire District, Investigation Division Chief Senior Fire Officer (SFO) 4 Ramil Gillado said the fire, which started past 9 p.m., reached a third alarm before it was totally put out past 11 p.m.
Based on the initial data of the Panacan Fire Station, the damage caused by the fire was pegged around P2 million.
During the fire, a 56-year-old man also died after he was hit by a trailer truck when he ran away toward the street.
Aside from him, no fatalities were reported during the fire incident.
The Davao City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) is now validating the victims so that interventions and financial assistance will be properly distributed and provided.
Gillado said one of the major causes of residential fire is electrical faulty-wiring.
“Matag karon ug unya, nagpahimangno gyod ta sa katawhan nga mag-amping sa mga wiring sa panimalay, kung dugay na, kinahanglan ilisdan na gyud ug subayon perme basin og na gisi pinaagi sa pagkitkit sa mananap o sa bisan unsa nga rason, himuon ta kini aron malikay sa sunog (Every now and then, we advise the public to take extra precaution on the electrical wirings at home. If these are old they need to change these, and always check whether there are torn wires caused by rodents' nibbling or other causes. Let's do these to prevent fire),” he said.
The BFP-Davao City Fire District-Investigation Division recorded 39 fire incidents from April 1-28, 2021, which resulted in damages pegged at P10,539,500. (Jeepy P. Compio)