40 houses, 2 dogs lost in flames

CEBU, Philippines - A fireman was hurt in a fire that destroyed 40 houses and killed two dogs in an interior area in Barangay Calamba, Cebu City shortly after a heavy rain yesterday afternoon.

Two women who figured in a brawl near the burning area were almost got hit by a fire truck. The women were not actually fire victims but were fighting as one of them accused the other woman of having an illicit love affair with her husband. They were pacified by a policeman who was deployed to help control the crowd.

It took firemen almost an hour to control the blaze which started 3:39 pm in sitio Mahayahay, A. Lopez St., said Cebu City Fire Marshall William Tacaldo Jr.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Omar Segovia suffered from a first degree burn after embers fell on his back. But he was not seriously hurt so he stayed in the area until evening.

After the clearing out operation, Tacaldo said 41 houses were listed to have been destroyed by the fire. Three other houses were damaged, he said.

The houses were mostly made of light materials and were near each other so the flames spread quickly. The fire started as soon as the heavy rain stopped.

Tacaldo said they raised the fire incident to Task Force Alpha since firemen and fire trucks from Cebu City including neighboring cities responded to control the fire.

They are still investigating where the fire actually started and what triggered it. They initially received information that the fire started at the residence of one Gema Flores.

Geraldine Pepito, one of those left homeless, said the rain lulled her to sleep but she was awakened by neighbors’ shouts about the fire.

“Paglili nako sa gawas, ang kayo padung na man diay sa amo. Dali-dali ko’g gawas, naniguro na lang kog kuha sa akong mga bata,” she said. She was not able to save anything. (I saw the fire nearing our house so I just made sure the kids were safe.)

Tacaldo said they had difficulty entering the burning houses as the thickly populated area is in the interior and dead-end corner of sitio Mahayahay, at the back portion of Calamba Cemetery.

The area was actually one block away from sitio Sto. Niño, A. Lopez St., Barangay Labangon where a fire charred to death couple Eduardo and Margarita Miego in June 12.

The residents scampering to different directions away from the fire also delayed firemen a bit, he said.

The fire victims, most of whom were not able to save anything, are temporarily sheltered at the barangay sports complex. Some also stayed at an open area inside the Calamba Cemetery.

Elvie Egoña, barangay councilor, estimated the number of individuals affected by the fire to have reached about 500. The fire also charred two dogs, she said.

Based on the accounts of the victims, she said, the fire started from the house of one Teofilo Villamonte. An electrical wire allegedly exploded and sparks of fire landed on the rooftop of Villamonte’s house.

Tacaldo said they are still investigating what really caused the fire. He has yet to estimate the cost of damaged property. /JPM (FREEMAN)