20160509 Philippines Authorities believe： Unattended gas lamp might have caused fire
Philippines May 08 2016 “Houses”
Dead : dead 5 to 9 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Authorities believe: Unattended gas lamp might have caused fire
Updated: 2016-05-09-00:00
Authorities believe that an unattended gas lamp caused last Saturday’s fire in Barangay Pahina-Central, Cebu City which killed seven people and damaged P1 million worth of properties.
Senior Fire Officer 2 Lowell Opolontesima of the Cebu City Fire Department said they are looking into another possible cause but they are currently convinced that an unattended gas lamp caused the fire.
Pahina Central barangay captain Carlo Yap also believes the same, saying the area had no electricity.
“Posibleng lamparilya g’yud maoy tinubdan sa sunog tungod kay walay linya sa kuryente sa maong lugar,” he said.
Yap said they have declared sitios Tumoy and Riverside which were hit by the fire under state of calamity.
At least P3 million was allocated as calamity fund to be used to buy goods and construction materials for the affected families initially numbered at 194.
Aside from the calamity fund, Yap said barangay officials have agreed to give additional aid to the family of Ricardo Alvarez Jr. whose wife and three children aged four, two, and three weeks died, and to Mariz Belarmino, whose father, stepmother and two-year-old daughter also died in the fire.
The affected families can now return to the fire-hit areas, according to Yap, but reblocking it would be a problem.
“Makahimo ra pagbalik ang mga residente sa lugar pero maglisod ‘ta sa pagpa-reblock niini tungod sa kagamay sa lugar ug hinungdan nga mohangyo ‘ta sa mahimong tag-iya sa One Citilink (terminal) nga mahatagan og gamay nga agianan ang mga residente,” he said.
The city’s head of the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor lawyer Collin Rossel has said that they are still assessing on how to go about the reblocking in the fire-stricken area.
Yap said the Cebu City Fire Department failed to immediately respond to the incident considering its proximity to the barangay.
“Nganong dugay nakatubag sa alarma ang mga sakop sa Cebu City Fire Department nga dili man unta kini layo sa nasunugan,” the barangay captain asked.
Department of Social Welfare and Services chief Dr. Ester Concha said they are still validating the total number of families affected as well as the total number of fully and partially damaged houses and buildings.
The fire victims are temporarily sheltered at the barangay gym and in Barangay San Nicolas Proper. Some of them are staying at the dilapidated One Citilink Terminal.
One of them is the family of Sandra Chan, 43, who said that it is better to stay at the terminal as it is closer to the fire site where they can get water.
Chan said they were not able to save anything when the fire broke out.
“Nanghatag akong mga igsoon sa amo og mga gamit, mga sanina sa akong mga anak, pero hurot g’yud kasunog among mga investments like among television, oven, refrigerator,” she said.
Despite this though, Chan said she is still thankful that her family was not injured.
As for the bereaved Alvarez Jr., he gave a bouquet of roses to his wife which he placed above her coffin as his gift for her on Mother’s Day yesterday.
“Daghan pa unta kong plano nga kaayohan kuyog akong asawa ug mga anak apan tungod sa panghitabo igo na lang ko sa paghuna-huna ug pagbakho,” he said.
He said his wife and children will be laid to rest on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, six houses made of light materials were destroyed in another fire yesterday morning at Tres Borces St., Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
SFO3 Pier Angelo Abellana said the affected shanties were being occupied by employees of construction supplier Vic Enterprises who were luckily not hurt.
The city fire department received the report about the fire at 9:57 a.m. and controlled it in 11 minutes, said Abellana.
A four-year old girl who was playing with combustible material probably triggered the fire, he said.
Abellana said the minor was left by his father Toto Escalona, a truck boy, to the care of Julito Ricafort and his wife Vilma Ricafort.
Vilma allegedly went to the market, leaving the girl behind.
“Minutes after nga nagduwaduwa og kayo, nikalit lang og kadako,” said Abellana.
The fire left an estimated P20,000 damage
Web Source: Philstar
http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2016/05/09/1581434/authorities-believe-unattended-gas-lamp-might-have-caused-fire