WHAT would you do if you were in a tragic situation? Most people would prioritize saving themselves and their loved ones, but Ryan Conson was different.
Conson, a 38-year-old volunteer firefighter from Barangay Looc, Mandaue City, fearlessly ran through blazing houses and pavements to put out the fire in Sitio Under the Bridge, located underneath the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge (also known as the first bridge) on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
He was one of the first responders who rushed to the site of the fire, prioritizing the safety of the entire community over his own.
Peaceful lunch
At the Looc Gym on Thursday, March 14, Conson spoke to the media about his experience during the Tuesday fire.
On Tuesday afternoon, enjoying a quiet lunch at home, Conson suddenly noticed black smoke in a nearby area. Conson wasted no time in rushing to their fire truck at the Barangay Hall to investigate the black smoke.
“Padung mi didtos nasunogan, dayon nag set up mi direcho. Mao nang dagan kos sulod, nitira ko dayon. Di na gyud namo matabang kay dako na kaayo ang kayo, unya kusog na kaayo ang hangin sad. Hapit pa gani among fire truck nasunog,” said Conson.
(On the way to the area affected by the fire, we set up quickly. I ran inside the fire zone and trained my fire hose on the fire immediately. Unfortunately, the fire had already become too large and the wind was too strong. Our fire truck even almost caught fire.)
Despite the danger, Conson and his team bravely attempted to extinguish the fire, but it quickly spiraled out of their control.
Home lost
As the situation worsened, Conson quickly ran back home and handed his family, especially his child, to his siblings for safety. Afterward, he returned to his firefighting duties.
After a few minutes, Conson faced the worst experience a firefighter could ever go through. While he was busy saving other houses from the flames, he lost his house.
Conson narrated the heartbreaking moment when he had to battle the fire to prevent it from engulfing his home of 20 years.
But his composure never faltered in fighting the fire. This time, he was not only saving his community but also neighboring areas from losing their homes with the fire getting more aggressive, just like he was. More than 500 families were eventually displaced by the fire after it burned 370 houses.
Rise of a hero
Conson has a day job working as a staff member at a motorboat port near his residence in addition to his job as a volunteer firefighter.
He said the fire incident that occurred in Sitio Paradise, also in Barangay Looc, on Nov. 22, 2022, which was close to his neighborhood, inspired him to join the firefighting brigade in his barangay.
The Paradise fire destroyed about 600 homes, displacing 2,737 individuals, making it one of the largest fire incidents in Cebu in 2022.
“I volunteered because I really wanted to help people,” said Conson.
He then trained in firefighting techniques at the Bureau of Fire Protection Mandaue Office.
Conson works as a volunteer firefighter and receives an honorarium of P3,500 a month. He is on call for two shifts, day or night, and promptly responds to any fire incident, even those outside his barangay when the help of their fire brigade is required.
For him, his small salary does not matter as he finds happiness in saving people in fire incidents.
His most memorable assignment was the fire last Tuesday.
Conson is now one of the 515 families affected by the fire who have found temporary refuge at the Looc Gymnasium.
The Mandaue City Government is currently hosting evacuees at the gymnasium and nearby Cesar Cabahug Elementary School.
Sadly, Conson and his family were unable to save any of their belongings and only escaped the fire with their lives.
The first-degree burns on his left arm, which he did not notice until the fire was successfully extinguished, was the only souvenir of his heroic deed and Sitio Under the Bridge’s tragic fate.
While waiting for help from the government and other individuals, Conson’s patriotic heart remains, as he chooses to still be a volunteer firefighter despite his experience.
“This is a new chapter of my life, but I will continue to help other people. I have been a volunteer firefighter for a year now,” he said in Cebuano.