Huge Tejero blaze: Help pours in for fire victims

CEBU, Philippines - While there is a saying that in crisis there is opportunity, it can also mean an opportunity to do good deeds for your fellowmen.

The fire that razed the homes of 171 families or 750 individuals in four sitios of Barangay Tejero the other day, has also brought out the best in many people, who have come forward to help.

The victims are now temporarily housed at the barangay sports complex and at a vacant lot owned by one of the families in the place.

Fire investigators have pegged the damage at P800,000 in the two-hour blaze in a densely populated area with houses built mostly of light materials.

A day after the fire, residents did not waste time at trying to rebuild their lives.

The Cebu City government is there to provide food for the victims while assistance in various forms are pouring in from the private sector.

The fire was tapped at around 5:36 p.m. and was blamed on a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank that blew up.

To make the situation a little more bearable for the fire victims, four industrial fans have been set up by the barangay in the sports complex, where over 300 people are temporarily housed.

They, however, have to share only two restrooms – one in the sports complex and another at the barangay hall.

Barangy Basak San Nicolas of Captain George Rama sent four tents which were put up in the affected sitios while two portable toilets were also installed in the site. The area is already well lit through the help of the city’s street lighting division.

Several non-government organizations (NGOs) have also sent aid early morning yesterday by conducting feeding programs and medical missions at the designated shelters.

Aside from the NGOs, private individuals also sent their help to the affected residents.

Sheila Cueco, 20, who graduated last March, had nothing left but her dreams as their home for almost 20 years was reduced to a pile of rubble.

Cueco now doubts if she can still attend the nursing board review after they lost everything.

In times of trouble your real friends come to the rescue and that was what happened to Cueco. Her classmates rushed to her aid and that of her family by giving clothes.

He close friends – Jenalyn, Kelly Anne, and Cab, are also there to lift her spirits in this very trying time of her life.

“Nabalaka mi ilabi na karon nga nag-review mi…walay nahibilin bisag uniform ug libro, tanang pa-ningkamot sa iyang papa, nasunog - naabo tanan,” said Kelly Anne.

Another victim, Debby Puerto, said that during the fire she thought of saving only one precious possession – a huge image of the Child Jesus (Santo Niño), which was on their altar.

“Mao gyud na ang akong giuna og aswat, mao ra gyud na ang misulod sa akong utok,” Puerto said.

Puerto also told The FREEMAN though they lost their house which was their home for almost 50 years, their family is still very much happy that none of them was injured or perished in the blaze.

Lessons Learned

Cebu City Fire Martial Aderson Comar saw lapses, which hampered their firefighting efforts.

Comar told The Freeman that the fire could have been neutralized earlier if the fire truck of the barangay had the standard fire hose couplings and if the Barangay Response Team was properly formed.

Barangay Tejero’s “locally-made” fire truck had a different coupling, which did not allow the other responding trucks to connect their hoses to that of the first responder.

Due to the mismatch in the couplings, Tejero’s fire truck ran out of water and failed to neutralize the fire while it was still small.

Comar also cited that there was no crowd control at the scene, stressing the barangay should have deployed their risk reduction team amidst the chaos.

He, however, thanked responding fire teams from various stations in the city and neighboring cities for their quick response to the emergency. — /NLQ (FREEMAN)