20160223 Philippines Barangay Basak, Mandaue City- 150 houses lost in blaze
Philippines Feb 22 2016 “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : more than 70 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Barangay Basak, Mandaue City: 150 houses lost in blaze
Updated: 2016-02-23-00:00
People left homeless after a fire struck Sitio Alliance of Two Hearts in Barangay Basak, Mandaue City, try to salvage anything they can from the burned ruins of their houses.
At least 150 houses were destroyed by a fire in Sitio Alliance of Two Hearts, Barangay Basak, Mandaue City, yesterday morning.
Mandaue City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office chief Felix Suico Jr. said the damage was pegged by fire investigators at P500,000.
Senior Fire Officer 1 Charles Rogel Mutia of the Mandaue City Fire Department said they received the alarm at 10:45 a.m. and the responding team was at the area at 11:02 a.m.
He said alarm was declared Task Force Alpha and fire out was declared by 11:50 a.m. He added the fire easily spread as most of the houses were made of light materials.
DRRMO focal person Carlo Cabahug said the fire reportedly started at the house of a certain Conching Hontilla, whose special needs child was allegedly seen playing with matches before the fire was reported.
He said the small fire caught the combustible materials inside the house and immediately spread to nearby houses. No one was harmed by the fire, he added.
Shortly after fire out, the City Social Welfare and Services Office came to the area to assess the number of affected families. Cabahug said collapsible tents will be placed at the area’s basketball court to serve as temporary shelter for the affected families.
The welfare office also handed out relief materials and food items to the families who just lost their homes.
This is the fourth fire incident in Mandaue this year, prompting Suico to remind the public to warn their children against playing with matches, these being a major cause of fires.
Suico, whose office also responds to fire alarms with its two high-end fire trucks, said by March, when the whole nation observes fire prevention month, they will be going around the different barangays to provide seminars to the people on avoiding fires and reducing harm in case of fires.
Narrow roads
Senior Fire Officer 4 Roy Garcia said firefighters had difficulty getting to the fire because the passageways were narrow.
“Problema sa kalisod sa dalan ug kahagip-ot sa maong lugar mao’y usa sa mga problema nga nasugatan namo,” Garcia said.
Barangay councilwoman Honey Mabanto said immediately after the fire the barangay officials held an emergency session to declare the place under state of calamity.
“Wala pa namo madesideri unsa among ihatag kay amo pa maipadala sa kagamhanan sa Mandaue amo resolusyon nga naka deklarar nami ug state of calamity ug padayon usab namo giasistar ang lugar kung pila ang apektado nga pamilya tungod kay sikit-sikit man ang mga panimalay,” Mabanto said
Mabanto also said while there were no injuries directly caused by the fire some people reported being bitten by dogs in the mad scramble to take their belongings to safety.
The barangay officials plan to relocate the fire victims in the Our Lady of Fatima Parish but most of the victims wanted to remain in the fire scene. Barangay officials still asked expectant women, infants, persons with disabilities and senior citizens to stay in the day-care center.
Based on the initial list of the welfare office 98 families were affected by the fire, 77 house owner and 21 renters/sharers.
Web Source: Philstar
http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2016/02/23/1555960/barangay-basak-mandaue-city-150-houses-lost-blaze