Old school building, 88 houses destroyed; twin fires strike city

CEBU, Philippines -  In a span of four hours, two fire incidents struck a 99-year-old school building and a populated area in Cebu City, leaving more than 100 families homeless and students with no classrooms.

Authorities estimated the damage to property of the twin fires at P550,000.

The first fire hit late last night the City Central Night High School, located along P. Del Rosario Street corner Osmeña Boulevard, an hour after the last class was held.

City fire marshall Aderson Comar said the fire destroyed eight classrooms and partially damaged eight others, excluding the new school canteen, where the fire originated.

The fire, he said, spread quickly considering that the building was very old and was made of light materials. The building is supposed to turn 100 years old next year.

The Cebu City Fire Department received the report at 10:43 p.m.

Firemen and fire trucks were dispatched to put out the blaze, which they then able to control in eight minutes, Comar said.

Comar said they had to use an ax to open the school gate, the one facing Osmeña Boulevard.

Once the gate was opened, Comar said they were also forced to destroy the doors of the classrooms.

“Dapat accessible unta ang area. Naa unta sila’y emergency gate dapat (The area should have been accessible. They should have emergency gate),” Comar said.

He admitted there was a brief delay in putting out the fire because they had to search first for the fire hydrant.

“Gitabunan man sad ang hydrant og lamesa (The hydrant was covered with table),” he said, suspecting the street vendors as responsible.

Comar said he raised the fire alarm to Task Force Alpha in order to receive assistance from other fire stations outside Cebu City.

Firemen and fire trucks from the cities of Talisay and Mandaue indeed responded.

As of past 12 a.m. yesterday, firemen conducted an overhauling of the area to prevent possible rekindling of fire.

The fire department pegged the damage at P150,000.

Cause Of The Fire

Comar said the fire originated from the canteen, which the school has just launched earlier that day. The canteen was located at the back of the old building.

The fire marshall said they have yet to determine the cause of the fire. Initially, they received information that a ceiling fan was left unattended.

On the other hand, Melvin Bilonghilot, the school guard, said a liquefied petroleum gas tank may have triggered the fire.

“Maglutoan man ‘na sila diha sa bagong canteen kay naa ma’y LPG diha. Unya pagkakita nako sa aso, didto man g’yud dapita sa LPG naggikan (They had cooked at the new canteen where there was an LPG. Then I saw smoke from where the LPG was located),” Bilonghilot told The FREEMAN.

Bilonghilot was manning the post near the other gate of the school when he noticed smoke emitting from the canteen.

When he found out that the canteen caught fire, he rushed to the nearby barangay hall to report.

Although some classrooms were not totally destroyed, Comar said classes are still not advisable because the ceilings were damaged.

Because of the incident, yesterday’s classes were suspended temporarily. Students worried that the fire also ate up their test papers. They just took their periodical tests.

“Giingnan mi nga mag-exam na sad mi balik sa uno (We were told to take the exam again),” a Grade 4 student said.

But two teachers yesterday clarified although that some of the test papers went up in smoke, some tests were also recorded already so students need not go back from the start.

Quiot Fire

Four hours later, another fire struck sitio Sto. Niño, Barangay Quiot and razed at least 88 houses and partially damaged five others.

Comar said the fire originated from the two-storey house of a certain Aquilina Cabaluna, who was not around when the fire occurred.

The fire marshall said they received the report at 2:36 a.m. and put the fire under control in 18 minutes. Damage to property was estimated at P400,000.

Paulina Paras, a Quiot barangay councilwoman, said they have declared the sitio under state of calamity.

Paras, whose house almost caught fire, said 119 families or 529 individuals were affected by the fire. Relief goods were already distributed to the affected families.

She said a certain Marvin Caballero injured his lower back when he jumped from the second floor of his house.

Paras said they intended a budget of P105,000 for the purchase of reconstruction materials but that this would not be enough.

Fire victims were temporarily sheltered at the basketball court.

Aida Cabaluna, whose husband is a far relative of Aquilina Cabaluna, hopes that they would be given financial assistance so they can start rebuilding their house. Her family lost everything to the fire. - THE FREEMAN