CEBU, Philippines – At least 10 houses were razed when a fire hit a residential area fronting the wharf in Barangay Tangil, Dumanjug town dawn last Thursday.
The police station received a call from a resident in the area at around 1:44 a.m. and it was the police that channeled the information to the Bureau of Fire.
However, owing to the absence of firefighting equipment, the situation was raised to the third alarm and fire trucks from Moalboal, Barili, Badian, Carcar, Alcantara, and Aloguinsan had to respond.
The fire was placed under control at 4:33 a.m. but one firefighter, Fire Officer 1 Dexter Datulayta, sustained first degree burns to his legs.
Investigation revealed that the fire started at a sari-sari store then affected the houses near it.
The houses that were razed were made of light materials.
Firefighters pegged the damage at P1 million. —/JMO (FREEMAN)