Afternoon blaze gobbles up house, taxicab in Mambaling

CEBU, Philippines - A fire struck a taxi garage in Sitio Caimito, Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City yesterday afternoon, destroying a house and a taxicab.

The fire, which the Cebu City Fire Department said started around 4:35 pm, burned one unit of  Tanti Taxi and damaged two more and a Honda Wave 125 motorcycle parked in the garage.

The fire also destroyed a stock room that served as home of the garage’s care-taker.

FO3 Emiliano Daño, fire investigator, said the fire caused a P150,000 damage to the properties of  Fe Go, a resident of Barangay Cogon Ramos, who was not around when the fire broke out.

Firefighters took at least 10 minutes to control the blaze, which was flagged as a first alarm.

Daño said no one was around the area when the fire struck. He said that by the time they arrived, flames have already engulfed the garage.

Theresa Añosa, 35, caretaker of the establishment, said she was with her two children attending a mass at the Basilica del Sto. Niño when the fire happened.

Her husband was also driving a taxicab while her third daughter was in Mandaue City, so no one in the vicinity when the fire broke out.

She said they were not able to save any belongings.

Añosa dismissed the possibility that the fire was caused by electrical connection since she made sure that all appliances were turned off before she left to go to mass.

Daño said they are still investigating what caused the fire, which neighbors said started at the back portion of  the stock room/house.

Neighbors who noticed the fire tried dousing the flames with water, but they had a hard time because the fence around the garage was high.

Daño said they were forced to destroy the gate before they managed to spray the flames with water. Luckily, he said, no one got injured during the blaze.

Daño said the area was large and surrounded with a firewall that prevented the fire from spreading nearby houses. — (FREEMAN)