Fire razes 13 houses in barangay Sto. Niño

Thirteen houses made of light materials were destroyed by a fire last Saturday night, the second to hit the city three days after the launch of Fire Prevention Month.

The fire occurred at 8:50 p.m. at the corners of D. Jakosalem and M.C. Briones streets in barangay Sto. Niño. The houses were mostly occupied by street vendors, a fire fighter said.

The fire fighters placed the fire under control eight minutes after they arrived at the scene, but declared total control of the blaze around 11:15 p.m.

Damage was estimated to have reached P180,000. However, nobody was reported hurt or injured, according to SFO2 Ricardo Villarete.

Based on the investigation of SFO1 Frank Donozo, Villarete said, the fire started at a house owned by a certain Malene Hilongos being occupied by Giovanni Danoncian.

Fire fighters could not yet ascertain as to what could have caused the fire, but they are looking into the possibility of faulty electrical connections.

Last Friday dawn, hours after the opening of March as Fire Prevention Month, at least 39 houses were reduced to ashes when a fire broke out past midnight in sitio Putat, barangay Tinago.

The fire also consumed the house of the city fire investigation section chief, SFO3 Allen Arciaga.

Initial investigation showed that the fire started at the small convent near the United Church of Christ in the Philippines chapel being occupied temporarily by its pastor, Dominador Mag-usara, 71 and his wife Rose, 66.

Neighbors claimed they heard an explosion coming from the house of the couple and believed that a sub-standard ceiling fan could have caused the fire. - Edwin Ian Melecio