Fire eats up P1.3M properties in Balamban

 CEBU, Philippines - An estimated P1.3 million worth of damages were left by an early morning fire that destroyed an eatery, a bakeshop, two boarding houses, and a house in Barangay Buanoy, Balamban yesterday.

Balamban fire investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire which reportedly started at the back portion of the vacant boarding house owned by Cheryl Tampus, 44.

Other establishments destroyed by the fire was the King’s Lechon and Eatery owned by Dennis Garcia, Sonny Bakeshop  owned by Paulino Pesalbon, of Barangay Cansaga, Consolacion, a boarding house owned by Ezequiel Legaspino and the house of Emalyn Lascano, 43.

The fire station received the alarm around 2:48 in the morning. It was then raised to second alarm.

Lascano, sister of Tampus, told The FREEMAN that she was at their sari-sari store a few meters away from their house when she saw the fire engulfe the boarding house of Tampus.

Lascano ran home and shouted for help knowing that her husband and child were sleeping upstairs.

“Okay ra akong bana ug anak pero wala na mi mahimo kay dako na kaayo ang kayo di man gyud kongkreto gud ang balay,” she said in a phone interview. (My husband and child are okay but there’s nothing we can do about the house because it was not made of concrete.) 

The fire was controlled 30 minutes before it was totally extinguished at 4:45 in the morning.

Aside from the Balamban Fire Station, the Toledo City Fire Station also responded to the alarm.

FO1 Ramel Tapia, fire investigator, said they are still investigating the cause.  (FREEMAN)