Fire razes 10 homes in Consolacion

CEBU, Philippines — Ten structures, including a computer shop, made mostly of light materials were razed by fire in Barangay Pulpogan, Consolacion, Cebu Monday evening.

The Consolacion Fire Station pegged the damage at P180,000.

Fire Officer 1 Cyro Bryan Fua said the blaze, which started from the computer shop, was triggered by electrical overload.

The fire station received the fire alarm at 8:23 p.m. and it was contained 25 minutes later.

No one was hurt in the incident.

Fua said it was the second time the area was struck by fire. The first incident was in 2017.

REBUILDING

Meanwhile, in Cebu City,  Ermita fire victims have been allowed to reconstruct their homes starting Saturday, March 30.

The development came following the awarding of home lots to the fire victims, said Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) Operations Head Genevieve Alcoseba.

“We have assigned them their home lots. So they can begin rebuilding their houses by Saturday,” she said.

The affected families are currently billeted at the Carbon Market Unit II building and Ermita barangay gymnasium.

Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) officer-in-charge Flora Bartolome said the city will distribute housing materials, including 10 pieces of galvanized iron and 10 pieces of ply wood, to the fire victims.

Aside from the housing materials, each affected family will also receive P20,000 in cash aid.

As part of the reblocking scheme, Alcoseba said Sitios Katsilan and Pig Vendor, respectively, will observe a 1.2-meter pathway and 5-meter pathway for easy access during emergencies.

The densely-populated Sitios Bato, Pig Vendor, and Castilaan were hit by a huge fire on February 5. The fire razed 287 houses and displaced 658 families or 2,686 individuals.

The city council recently asked DWUP to act on the request of Acting Ermita Barangay Captain Efe Rupinta to hasten the implementation of the reblocking scheme in the fire-stricken sitios.

“Respectfully requesting your prompt and philanthropic actions to realize and fast track the reblocking project,” the council’s letter read. — USC Intern Hanna D. Tejada KBQ (FREEMAN)