500 homes wiped out in Tipolo: Inferno at dawn

CEBU, Philippines — Cresencia Villaflor does not normally wake up in the middle of the night but, yesterday, it was different.

The 55-year-old, who suffers from asthma and high blood pressure, roused from bed to a fiery smell and thick smokes enveloping their neighborhood at around 1 a.m., only to find out that their place was already being engulfed by raging flames.

Villaflor’s first instinct was to rush to her son’s room in their house at Basubas compound in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City. She then took her nebulizer and BP apparatus before they both scampered to safer grounds.

“Hangtod karon, nagkurog pa ko. Labad akong ulo ug dili ko kabarog gumikan sa kahadlok (Until now I’m still shivering. I’m having a headache and I cannot stand out of fear),” she told The FREEMAN in an interview on the road where fire victims like her had trooped as they watched the smokes billow from their burnt homes in the morning.

Alma Conchas, owner of the house where the fire was believed to have started, recalled hearing the screams of her neighbors informing her of the ongoing fire.

“Samtang natulog mi sa akong bana, nisyagit among silingan -- ‘Nasunog ang bay ni ‘Noy Ian!’ (her husband Mariano). Mao to nibarog ko, akong gilili. Dako na ang kayo, mao to nanagan na mi ug wala gyu’y nada (We woke up to the shouting of our neighbors -- ‘Noy Ian’s house is on fire!’ So I stood up and checked. The fire had spread, so we ran and took nothing with us),” said Conchas.

Conchas said the fire started in a room in their house in Sitio Basubas that was being rented by a couple.

8-hour combat

Senior Fire Officer 2 Edgar Vergara, investigator at Mandaue City Fire Station, said the blaze razed an estimated 350 to 400 houses, leaving possibly thousands of families homeless. No one was reported killed or injured.

As of 11 a.m. yesterday, the City Social Welfare Office recorded 435 displaced families.

Vergara confirmed receiving reports that the fire started in the Conchas residence but they have yet to find out what exactly caused it. Among the possible angles being looked into were a cellphone that may have exploded or unattended cooking.

The Bureau of Fire Protection received the alarm at 1:18 a.m. and declared it under second alarm at 1:40 and third alarm at 1:44.

From Basubas compound, the flames quickly spread to the neighboring Espina compound and Sitio Maharlika, owing the closely-knit nature of the structures.

Because the affected area was wide, the fire was further elevated to task force alpha at 1:56, and task force bravo at 2:34, before it was declared finally under control at 2:30 a.m.

Firefighters declared fire out at 9:12 a.m. or about eight hours after the fire had erupted.

Vergara pegged the damage at P1.3 million the least.

He also said that among the challenges they faced in their initial response were the lack of water supply and the narrow roads that led to the interior portions. The winds that had fanned the flames did not also make things any better.

School affected

Some classrooms at Tipolo National High School were also unable to escape the fire’s wrath.

A two-classroom school building was totally burned while eight classrooms from another building also incurred damages and rendered unsafe for classes.

School officials were forced to cancel classes there yesterday until Friday to make way for the clearing and inspections by the BFP personnel.

Classes will resume on Monday but students will have to make do with the available space, possibly cramping in some classrooms.

State of calamity

The Mandaue City Council held a special session yesterday afternoon and declared the barangay under a state of calamity to allow the city to use funds to aid the fire victims.

Earlier in the day, the barangay had also declared a state of calamity, according to barangay captain Romana Cuizon, who said they still have P300,000 in funds left. Cuizon said an estimated 500 homes were razed and 1,200 households affected.

Acting Mayor Carlo Pontico Fortuna said the city plans to give financial assistance of P10,000 to each affected household and P5,000 to each affected boarder. Listing of fire victims was still ongoing as of this writing.

At the moment, the victims are temporarily taking shelter in tents outside the Cebu International Convention Center.

The city government will  be provided free meals for three days, with the distribution of financial assistance set for Sunday.

Third fire

Cuizon said the area has been hit by fire twice before yesterday.

She described the affected lots as a “government property with a status of private property with squatting individuals.”

Despite most part of the affected area being privately-owned, Cuizon said no demolition had been ordered at the area before.

Cuizon said that during her meeting with other officials, the idea of reblocking the fire-stricken site was raised. However, she said it will be up to the owner of the lots.

Cuizon is calling on kindhearted individuals to donate relief goods and other basic needs of the victims such as toiletries and water. — With Zesusita C. Belarmino (FREEMAN)