Fire razes 300 homes, triggers power outage

CEBU, Philippines — At least 300 homes were reduced to ashes by a fire that erupted in a densely-populated portion of Sitio Tamiya in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City yesterday afternoon, the third to hit the city in a span of four days.

Aside from razing houses and establishments, the fire also spawned power interruptions in Lapu-Lapu City after the 69-kilovolt sub-transmission lines and poles of the Mactan Electric Company were among those affected.

As of 8 p.m. yesterday, some parts of the city were still without power.

MECO, in a statement issued on its official Facebook page, said: “We are currently experiencing power interruption in some areas because of the burnt 69kv sub-transmission lines and poles at Basak-Tamiya’s current fire incident.

“We regret to inform our valued customers that there is no definite time of power restoration yet. But rest assured that our linemen and engineers are closely coordinating with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to restore the power as soon as possible.”

The Lapu-Lapu City Fire District received the alarm at 2:55 p.m. yesterday.

The fire was raised to a general alarm at 3:14 p.m. after the flames had grown bigger and spread to more houses and establishments, before it was eventually declared under control at 4:12 p.m.

Basak Barangay Captain Isabelito Darnayla said almost 300 houses were burned down and thousands of individuals displaced.

He described the area as “congested,” with houses made of light materials. The roads going to the interior portion of the sitio are also narrow.

“Pag-abot sa fire truck, nagkayo naman sa luyo. Di na mi kasulod,” Darnayla told The FREEMAN.

Investigators have yet to check the real cause of fire.

As of now, Darnayla said the barangay will focus on addressing the needs of the fire victims, such as food and clothing provisions. The survivors are housed at the barangay gym.

Last March 16, a fire believed to have been caused by children playing a lighter also erupted in Sitio New Paradise in Barangay Basak, leaving about 2,000 individuals homeless.

On that same day, another fire broke out in Sitio Humay-Humay, Barangay Gun-ob but was quickly put out by fire responders. It was caused by a butane canister that had exploded.

Minglanilla Fire

In Minglanilla, residents affected by Monday’s fire in Sitio Little Tondo, Barangay Ward 3 are contemplating on filing arson charges against a woman and her husband.

Jenny Paran, 38, is now detained at the town’s police station after allegedly setting her house on fire due to a misunderstanding with her husband Joe.

According to Senior Fire Inspector Alvin Torion, the fire started at 2:52 p.m. and was declared out at 4:34 p.m. The alarm was raised to task force bravo.

During the initial investigation, the couple was found to have engaged in a fight.

Jenny allegedly threatened to set their house on fire if her husband continued to play a card game locally known as “tong-its.”

But Joe did not listen. Their neighbors then discovered that Jenny's house was already ablaze.

The fire quickly engulfed the houses of neighbors.

No injuries or fatalities were recorded but the estimated cost of damage was P1. 5 million.

One of the fire victims, Diseree Bargayong, 37, said it was her son who told her that there was a fire. She was unable to save any of their family’s belongings.

Another victim, Bebe Jumawan, said the incident could have been prevented if Joe only listened to his wife.

“Intentional man gud to. Kung naminaw pa lang ang bana nga moundang na og sugal, di gyud to mahitabo,” she said.

The affected residents are now planning to file a case against the couple.

Torion said they will wait for the victims to execute an affidavit against the suspects before filing the arson case.

But for her part, Jenny denied the allegations and claimed it was all an accident.

Aniceta Rodriguez, officer-in-charge of Minglanilla's Department of Social Welfare and Development Office, said that aside from providing the victims food for three days, the office is also currently assessing the amount of financial assistance that may be extended to them.

Some 27 structures were razed by fire: 25 were households and two were sari-sari stores.

At least 44 families were affected or a total of 102 individuals. —JMD (FREEMAN)