Fire destroys house, damages two others

CEBU, Philippines - A fire destroyed a two-storey house and damaged two other houses at King’s Road, Doña Rita Village, Barangay Talamban, early morning yesterday.

The fire razed the unoccupied house owned by Virgilio Macias who is currently abroad. The family’s Toyota Corolla which was parked in the front of the house was also engulfed by the flames.

The ceiling of the nearby house of German national Diefer Klee, and the railings and wooden carvings of the house of Filipino-Chinese Colbert Chanlim were also damaged.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Nilo Daculan of the City Fire Department said the damage of the fire was estimated at P1.2 million.

Allan Monteclavo, village security guard, told firemen that he just suddenly noticed thick smoke coming from the house and saw fire originating from the second floor.

Responding firemen were able to control the fire, which was called in at 1:58 a.m., about 10 minutes after arriving at the scene.

Daculan said they received the information late so that when they arrived at the scene, the flames had spread throughout the entire house.

The house, Daculan said, was recently occupied by Macias’ brother, Frankie, who arrived there last January 28 before leaving for Dipolog City. The fire investigator said Frankie may have left an electrical appliance running which eventually overheated and triggered the blaze.

Daculan said they have yet to interview any relative of Macias who may come to the area so they can determine the cause of the fire.

The fire, which was raised to the first alarm, was declared completely extinguished about 4:25 a.m. Nobody was reported hurt during the incident.  (FREEMAN)