Fire razes 10 houses in Dipolog City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  - - At least 10 houses were razed to the ground in a conflagration that hit a slum village in Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte Thursday noon.

Senior Inspector Joseph Ortega, spokesman of Police Regional Office 9 (PRO), said no one was hurt during the fire that lasted about an hour at Purok Bulahan, sitio Catadman, Barangay Turno, displacing  50 families and leaving them homeless.

Ortega said Dipolog City Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported that the fire occurred about 12:20 p.m. in one of the rooms of houses triggered by electrical short circuit and quickly spread to the other houses made of light materials.

Responding fire fighters had a difficult time reaching the area owing to the narrow road. Fire fighters also had to extend their water hose to about 300 meters to reach the burning site.

The fire damaged an estimated P150,000 worth of properties while the affected residents are temporarilyy evacuated to the Zamboanga del Norte National High School annex and were provided with relief assistance by the local government. - Roel Pareño