TWELVE houses were razed when a fire hit at Central Park, Bangkal in Barangay Talomo Proper, Davao City amid heavy downpour Tuesday night.
Senior Fire Officer 1 (SFO1) Ramil Gillado of the Bureau of Fire Protection's Investigation and Intelligence Section (BFP-IIS) in Davao City, said around 12 families at Bulusan 2 in Central Park were affected by the fire incident that started around 9:15 p.m.
Gillado said the fire started from the house owned and occupied by the family of Betty Botaya Arinas, 31, an employee of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
"Based on the initial investigation, the cause of fire was due to electrical short circuit. Bale dos andanas na ila balay unya didto sa second floor naay open wire, sa kakusog sa ulan kagabii, nabasa tong wire mao to nag cause sa sunog (It was a two-storey house and we found an open wire on the second floor. The said wire, wet by the rain, sparked the fire)," Gillado said.
Record from the Talomo Police Station showed that the fire spread to nearby houses that were all made of light materials.
Police identified the other victims as Analyn Barete, Samuel Vidal, Diosdado Gemao, Rachel Remoten, Edna Dalisay, Mac Espellarga, Jona Espellarga, and a certain Dennis.
Police said of the 12 houses, 10 were totally damaged and two were partially damaged.
Gillado said the firefighters from various fire stations were able to put off the fire around 9:45 p.m. He added that no casualty was reported in the incident. But the total damages was pegged at P700,000.
Meanwhile, a fire incident also took place around 10:37 p.m. Tuesday inside the Pluvial Enterprise Compound in Bago Aplaya.
Police said a company-owned delivery Isuzu Forward truck with plate number TKI-428, containing stocks of assorted sala sets and dining wood items, caught fire.
The fire started at the front seat of the truck that was parked unattended around 5 p.m. near the guard house. The cause of fire was due to overheat as the truck's engine was left on. The fire was put off at 11 p.m. No casualty was reported in the incident. Damages amounted to P500,000. (ICT)