Fire razes 38 houses in two sitios in San Nicholas
CEBU, Philippines - An afternoon fire destroyed 38 houses and injured two persons in two sitios in Barangay San Nicholas, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.
Philip Abellanosa, 28, injured his left foot while Jeffrey Ortiz suffered minor burns in his hands when they tried to save some of their belongings during the fire in sitios San Roque and To-ong.
The fire reportedly started at the house owned by a certain Rosalie Gerat around 1:43p.m.
Fire investigators were still clueless about the cause of the fire. But according to Aiza Debalucos, a relative of Gerat, her cousins, Kevin and Butch Rosales, had a verbal tussle prior to the incident.
Kevin and Butch are grandsons of Gerat who live with her in the house.
Arson investigator Danny Relatado said that he could not confirm the cause of the fire due to lack of witnesses.
He said they would invite the two brothers to their office for questioning.
The two sitios were about 700 meters away from the national highway. Firemen admitted that narrow roads prevent them from immediately entering the fire scene.
“Mga napulo ka mga hoses among gisumpay-sumpay una pa mi nakaabot sa sulodâ€, said Relatado.
The fire, which destroyed the houses made of light materials, was raised to third alarm. It was then controlled within 20 minutes.
Relatado pegged the damage at P500,000.
At least 54 families or 249 individuals have been affected by the fire, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Services. — With a report from Jessa J. Agua/LPM (FREEMAN)
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