A TOTAL of 340 houses were destroyed due to a fire that broke out under the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Senior Fire Insp. Leo Andicoy of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Mandaue, who is leading the investigation, said they still have to determine what caused the blaze in Sitio Under The Bridge.
According to Andicoy, the fire was reported at 12:08 p.m., and was raised to third alarm at 12:22 p.m. It was declared under control at 12:42 p.m. and was fully extinguished at 2:16 p.m.
He placed damage estimates to be around P1.215 million.
Arnel Abella, head of BFP Mandaue, said the fire burned an area of about 5,000 square meters.
Andicoy said the BFP Mandaue is working tirelessly to carry out repairs and clear the area to prevent any chance of the fire rekindling.
Authorities reported no casualties or injuries.
Temporary shelters
The victims are currently sheltering at the Looc Gym and Cesar M. Cabahug Elementary School.
As of 5 p.m., the Mandaue City Public Information Office reported that the blaze affected 444 families consisting of 1,537 people. Of this number, 340 were homeowners and 104 were renters.
Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede, in a separate interview, announced that they will be opening 20 rooms at the Cesar Cabahug Elementary School located next to the Looc Gymnasium to accommodate the victims.
He said the City will also provide them with food and other necessities.
Looc Barangay Captain Raul Cabahug requested neighboring barangays and cities for in-kind donations, which can be turned over to the Looc Barangay Hall.
“Dili gyud lalim ilabi na ang Looc bag-o lang kaayo nasunugan ning Sitio Paradise sad. Wa pa gani ang uban ka-recover pero karun nana say laing sunog,” he said.
(It’s not easy for the barangay, especially since it wasn’t that long ago that Sitio Paradise was also struck by fire. Some of the victims have not even recovered. Now another fire has struck.)
Outside assistance
Cabahug was referring to the fire on Nov. 22, 2022 that destroyed 600 homes. The barangay then declared a state of calamity to access emergency funds for the victims.
Buddy Alain Ybañez, head of the Mandaue City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, praised firefighters from the neighboring cities of Lapu-Lapu, Talisay, and Danao for their assistance.
Ybañez said they employed one strategy that helped immediately douse the flames.
He said they used flood suctioning machines to transfer water from the fire trucks.
According to Ybañez, one of the challenges they had to overcome was the strong wind, which caused the fire to spread quickly. / HIC