Several old houses burned: P12.5 million damage in R. Landon fire

CEBU, Philippines - Property estimated to be worth P12.5 million went up in smoke as several houses along R. R. Landon St. were gutted in a late afternoon fire yesterday that hit two barangays of Cebu City.

Most of the 25 houses that were burned were made of wood and were rented out to lodgers and eateries catering mainly to students.

Luckily, due to the Holy Week break, most of the students living in the area were not around.

Initial investigation showed that the blaze, which was tapped at 5:44 p.m. started at the house of a certain Eusebio Alo, Jr.

Alo, in an interview over radio station dySS, said that he noticed smoke coming from the ceiling of his house and then fire immediately broke out and readily spread to neighboring houses.

He however said later that while he noticed smoke coming out of his ceiling, he saw that the house of his uncle, Angelo Alo, was already engulfed in flames.

The fire affected houses both in barangays Santa Cruz and San Antonio.

It took firemen over an hour to put the fire under control.

Supt. Esmael Codilla, the fire marshal of Cebu City, said that the blaze was placed under control at 6:55 p.m.

A general alarm was declared as there are several houses in the interior portion of the street where the fire took place.

Strong winds also contributed to fanning the blaze that readily spread.

Firemen complained of narrow roads in barangay San Antonio that made it difficult for them to put off the blaze.

Also affected were apartments along Junquera Extension as well as Pelaez Extension.

As of presstime, nobody was reported hurt in the blaze.

The affected area is very close to the regional office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). The office of the PDEA was however spared due to a fire wall.

Several policemen were also quickly deployed to the affected area to provide security and prevent theft.

The fire scene is just behind the Police Regional Office-7 headquarters in Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr.

One of the apartments burned along Pelaez Extension was reportedly owned by Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong. —/NLQ   (THE FREEMAN)