Seven houses lost in Apas fire

CEBU, Philippines - Three houses were destroyed while four others were damaged when a fire broke out in the interior portion of sitio San Miguel, Barangay Apas, Cebu City, around 7 a.m. yesterday.

The city fire department received the alarm around 7:20 a.m. as residents managed first to save their properties from the fire.

A report by SFO2 Roylin Maratas said the fire was extinguished at 9:16 p.m. Damage was pegged at P450,000.

The incident was immediately raised to the second alarm. Seven fire trucks of the city fire department were dispatched to the area, they were also assisted by the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation and the Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Around 100 police recruits of the Regional Training School staying near the fire scene and around a hundred soldiers from the nearby Camp Lapu-Lapu were also of great help in preventing the fire from spreading to other houses.

Ground commander Insp. Demetrio Baring said the police recruits and soldiers carried pails of water to help in putting out the fire.

The fire reportedly started at the one-story house of Andy Baltazar.

Fire investigators ruled out the possibility that electrical misuse triggered the fire because the house has no electrical connection. They believe that it was a mosquito coil the family used overnight that caused the fire.

The fire department will invite Baltazar on Tuesday to help them shed light on the incident.

Nobody was injured in the incident except for Eusebio Bacasno, a councilman of the barangay.

Bacasno’s right foot was pierced by a sharp object while he was trying to save what he could from his house which later engulfed by the flames. – THE FREEMAN