Fire destroys house in Mabolo

A fire destroyed the house of a fashion designer and damaged another in Casals Village of barangay Mabolo last Friday evening.

SFO2 Felix Romero, the duty fire investigator of the scene said in a telephone interview with The Freeman that the fire alarm was received around 7:20 p.m. after a concerned citizen called up.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and found out that the fire already engulfed the whole house but managed to put it under control five minutes after arriving at the scene.

The house, which also served as the Rancho Fashion World boutique, was owned by a certain Alfred Chua who was not around when the fire happened.  Neighbors reported that only his female helper was home at the time and they saw she was very scared when the house caught fire.

Romero said they failed to interview the maid as she was no longer at the scene when they arrived.

 Romero could not yet ascertain the origin of the fire or from what floor it came from because the maid left without a word and the owner will not cooperate with him.

Another house owned by a certain Tony Dy was also slightly damaged.  Firemen set the damage to both houses at P350,000.

Romero said he would subpoena the owner and the maid next week to shed light on the incident.

This is the fourth fire recorded this month by the Cebu City Bureau of Fire Protection.  A few days ago, the house of Cebu Anti-Decency Board chairman Rene Josef Bullecer and several others owned by his relatives were destroyed by a fire in barangay Sambag Uno.  — Edwin Ian Melecio/BRP