A FIRE razed down 15 houses inside Yaba compound in Corrales street in Cagayan de Oro City early Tuesday morning, April 15.
Roy (not his real name) was awakened by a loud explosion that echoed all over the compound. He saw a large smoke followed by an abrupt blaze minutes later. “Ga-syagita na ang mga tao so nibangon ko,” he said.
He instructed his wife to carry their child while he went out to help the others threw water at the blazing house. “Akong plano, balikan lang nako sila dayon kay gamay pa ang sunog ato. [...] Nidako ang kalayo so gibalik ko. Nilakaw na sila so akong gipangsalbar kay mga dokumento lang ug mga gagmay na gamit ra,” he said.
In the row houses with single-passage roads, most of the houses were rented by boarders who work in the nearby area like Roy. He works at one of the city's watering holes and lived in the compound for almost two years. He was renting a room for P1400 which price varies depending on the number of appliances they may have.
“Ang mga boarding houses kay gadikit ra. Ang isig ka-bintana, dikit ra gyud. Dali ra gyud nangasunog ang mga balay,” he said describing the situation of the houses in the area.
One witness furthered, “Ang kalayo gatuyok-tuyok ra. Mao tong dali ra ang takod sa sunog.”
The compound is ‘enclosed’ with third-floor cemented houses and one narrow road in the middle.
“Boarder sad ko and lami kaayo akong tulog pa ato. Gipukaw kong kuya [landlord] kay dako na lagi ang kalayo. Ako rang nasalbar kay laptop, IDs, wallet ug ubang sanina,” Riza, 25, a Cepalco worker says.
“Maayo gani kay semento among boarding house. Ang mga tao kay nangagi jud sa amo kay pi-ot na kaayo ang dalan sa uban,” she narrated.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) says investigation is still on-going but fire’s origin is from Hipolito Pulvera’s house. The agency has estimated P1.5 million in damages.
“Kamulo pa ang among investigation pero gikan sa ato nga panimalay ang sunog,” says Fire Superintendent, Shirley Teleron.
BFP responded immediately as soon as barangay 22 captain, Eddie Casiño, sought for help. Unfortunately, “Accessing the main road was the problem. Nag-hose connection pa from five; four others and this one [main], the Bauer Fire Hose,” says Teleron.
“Layo pa kaayo ang gi-abtan para maabot lang ni nga area. Mao ni’y gikalisuran sa atong mga bombero kay lisud jud agi-an ang dalan.”
The BFP declared the fire out by 9 a.m.
The City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) gave immediate relief assistance to the victims. The relief goods were sorted and packed; ready for distribution.
“Pag ma-receive nato ang balita, SOP nato na nga mu-coordinate diretso sa baranggay,” said Rowena Palarca, head of the CSWD team deployed to the area.
Tentatively, 18 house owners lost their properties: Ricardo Yaba (5), William Pamayloan (3), Jose Gonzales (4), Felix Yaba (7), Nicolas Lomiguid (4), Joel Yaba (3), Rully Rehegaño (3), Neomilito Magsalay (3), Caridad Yaba (1), Dario Jomoc (1), Felicisimo Hinoyog (5), Almalyn Yaba (4), Dexter Ybañez (4), Manuel Yaba (2), Wenceslao Sultan (2), Hipolito Pulvera Jr. (4), Cecilia Magsalay (2) and Joefrey Hinoyog (5).
Homeless
The fire left 25 families homeless, fortunately there were no casualties. However, one was injured as he tried to escape by breaking the windows and jumped to the nearby school.
“Ang kalayo man gud, nag sugod, diri sa’kong nabantayan, gi-tan-aw man nako kay nag tabang man ko’g bisbis, diri sa bintana sa among boarding house. Ug sa atbang pud adunay mga boarders didto, posibli nga didto gikan ang kalayo,” according to Fuji Maurin, male, 36, a boarder. Only the important documents of his family and a rice-cooker were retrieved.
Rey Orio, male, 28, one of the boarders affected by the fire said “tungod sa akong pag dali-dali, akong gidala akong sapatos nga wa ko kabantay ang isa ka pares sa sapatos nabilin.“ He rented a room together with his sibling just last month. “Bag-o pa ko diri, adto pa kong March 19.”
“Napukaw ko sa kasaba sa gawas, pag tan-aw nako nag-sunog na di-ay,” Virginia Magsalay, female, 47, said. They were four families who lived in the house and their important documents were razed by the fire.
Palarca said 25 families were affected including the 17 house owners and the remaining numbers are renters and sharers.
“We have already started a community kitchen for them and are still verifying the listing of the victims,” she said.
The victims will be categorized as house owners, renters or sharers. “The listing and interviews will be the basis for the financial aid,” she added. (Alyssa C. Clenuar and Lynyrd Aleksei N. Corrales-XU Intern)