12 houses burned down in Apas fire
Firemen battle to put out the fire that hit Sitio Baca, Barangay Apas, Cebu City yesterday morning. Aldo Nelbert Banaynal
CEBU, Philippines — A fire burned down 12 houses in Sitio Baca, Barangay Apas, Cebu City yesterday morning, with one person injured and total damage estimated at P400,000.
According to Nelson Ababon, a Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) fire marshall, said they received the fire alarm at 8:32 a.m. yesterday. The fire was declared under control by 9:30 a.m. and was completely put out by 1:03 p.m.
According to initial report, the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring allegedly originating from the house of one Cindy Banzuela.
Senior Fire Officer 3 Agapito Bulotano, who lives nearby Banzuela’s house, tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher with the help of barangay volunteers, but the fire continued to spread as the house was made of light materials.
“Pagsinggit og sunog, naa ta’y bombero nga nagpuyo diha, si SFO3 Bulotano. Paggawas niya, iyang nakit-an nga nagkayo ang entrance cap sa VECO sa may kwarto ni Cindy. Naa ta’y volunteer nga nitabang, gisaka ang kwarto ug gigamitan og fire extinguisher pero tungod sa pagkadako sa kayo, wala na niya mapugngi,” said Ababon.
Emmanuel Juania, a barangay volunteer, suffered multiple lacerations and a first-degree burn on his right foot. There were no other recorded fatalities or missing persons during the incident.
According to Banzuela, she had just left the house when she got a call from Bulotano saying that her house was already burning.
Banzuela immediately rushed back to her house because her 13-year-old nephew, Joshua Almada, was still sleeping inside the house next to hers. The boy managed to get out and was among the residents evacuated to a nearby mall.
“Ang giingon sa akong silingan nga taga Bureau of Fire, wire ang hinungdan. Di ko kaingon kung sa amo ba gyud kay nigawas naman ko. Gi-make sure man gyud nako kay gipang-ibot man nako tanan, even ang butane gi-off nako,” said Banzuela.
The firefighters had difficulty passing through the single narrow street leading to Sitio Baca but residents helped and a pathway was quickly cleared. —JBB (FREEMAN)
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