Fire razes 6 houses in Mandaue

A five-minute fire gutted six houses and severely injured a woman yesterday in Purok Rose, barangay Opao, Mandaue City.

Senior fire officer 1 Roy Garcia, fire investigator of the Mandaue City Fire Department, said that the fire started at the house owned by Teofila Barzalote, which is rented by a certain Lea Laurante.

Laurante's mother-in-law Cerelita Batino, 54, suffered second-degree burns on both of her legs, hands and face after she tried to put off the fire.

Batino was immediately brought to the Mandaue City District Hospital.

Although the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, Garcia said that the fire started inside the rented house of Laurante where Batino is also staying.

Garcia added that the fire was put under control in about five minutes, and was totally extinguished an hour after the blaze. - Mitchelle P. Calipayan