Cebu City fire displaces 35 families

Local

A FIRE in Barangay Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City displaced 135 residents after destroying 12 houses and partially damaging six others on Friday, Oct. 2, according to the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS).

The fire occurred in Sitio Sambag 1, near the South Road corner of Cabrero Street, where 18 houses were recorded as affected by the blaze.

The DSWS initial assessment listed 35 families among those displaced, including eight sharers, nine renters, 14 lodgers, and one owner-occupant.

The affected residents were evacuated to the Fort Land gym, where the city government provided hot meals as authorities began registering and validating the fire victims.

DSWS also recommended that the displaced families and individuals receive assistance from the city's disaster account, including relief goods, housing materials, rice, and other basic supplies.

The fire was reported to the Cebu City Fire Station at 11:11 a.m. on Friday. Firefighters arrived at the scene six minutes later, at 11:18 a.m., and placed the incident under first-alarm operational status.

The fire was declared under control at 11:45 a.m. and completely extinguished at 12:23 p.m.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) recorded six structures totally burned and five partially damaged in its initial incident report, covering an estimated affected area of 400 square meters.

The BFP placed the estimated property damage at P152,000.

No deaths or injuries were reported in the incident.

The DSWS assessment showed that the affected population included children, teenagers, adults, and senior citizens. Among those registered were 18 children aged 7 to 12, 16 teenagers aged 13 to 17, and 98 adults aged 18 to 59. Eight senior citizens aged 60 and above were also listed.

The BFP identified Glenn Villareal as the owner and occupant of the residential property involved in its incident report.

As of this writing, authorities had not yet released a determination on what caused the fire.(TGP)