Christmas Day fires cause P.5M in damage

CEBU, Philippines - Two fires caused damage set at P550,000 in Talisay City and Toledo City during Christmas Day.

In Talisay City 13 houses in a densely populated area of sitio Rattan, barangay Tangke, were destroyed by a fire that started around 6:50 p.m.

Firefighters said the fire spread to other houses quickly as they had a hard time getting to the area due to the narrow roads, but it was put out 30 minutes after they arrived at the scene.

Investigators pegged the damage at P400,000.

It was alleged that an electrical overload at the house of the Valderamas caused the fire, but others said that an unattended candle could have also caused it.

Most of the houses were made of light materials.

It was the second fire alarm to hit the city in less than a week. Last Monday, 10 families in sitio San Jose, Dumlog, were left homeless after an early morning fire destroyed their houses. It had allegedly been caused by a substandard ceiling fan that short circuited.

Meanwhile, another fire also broke during Christmas day, this time destroying a boarding house along Osmeña Street, barangay Poblacion, Toledo City.

SFO2 Constancio Alcober said in an interview over radio dySS said that the two-story boarding house was owned by a certain Bienvenido Delica. It was made of light materials and already old, built in the 1960’s.

Initial investigation revealed that the fire started at the second floor of the boarding house after some appliances were left running by the lodgers who went to their respective provinces to celebrate Christmas.

Another house nearby was spared serious damage due to a firewall.

While the initial damage was set at P150,000 investigators said it can still increase.

No casualties were reported in both fires. — Liv G. Campo and Gabriel C. Bonjoc/BRP   (FREEMAN NEWS)