Fires hit Apas, Busay

CEBU, Philippines - Two fires hit Cebu City yesterday morning in barangays Apas and Busay.

The first happened in a house along Omega St., Barangay Apas, where a room was damaged after an exhaust fan allegedly overheated. Occupants of the house owned by Bienvenido Urbiztundo panicked around 9:30 a.m. as thick black smoke started to engulf the house.

Alexander Tambolero, a relative of Urbiztundo, rushed to the scene to help fight the fire.

“Pag-ingon sa ako nga igsuon nga nasunog ang 629 midagan dayon ko sa sulod ug nakit-an nako nga yellow ug orange na, senyales nga nagdilaab na sa sulod,” he said.

He then asked some neighbors to search for fire extinguishers from nearby establishments. Luckily, they were able to return with three fire extinguishers.

The volunteers managed to hold back the fire until the Barangay Apas rescue team and Bureau of Fire Protection arrived.

SFO2 Ramero Amantiad said that the fire was put out around 10 a.m.

“Ang exhaust fan ra gyud ang gigikanan kay wala namay lain appliances nga naa sa sulod sa room. Naay aircon apan wala man na-unsa,” Amantiad said.

He also alleged that the owner of the house might have accidentally left the exhaust fan on when he left.

“Basin na-overheat, basin wala na-off kay tua ang tag-iya sa Surigao del Sur nagpuyo,” he said.

“Duol ra kaayo ang atong barangay hall, unya naa pud tanan atong fire volunteers mao nga dali ra ta nakaresponde sa sunog,” said Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman.

He also said that it has been a year since they organized their barangay rescue team which responded immediately.

He however said, “bisa’g organized siya (response team) ang question kun efficient ba ang pag-respond. Mao nga mag-evaluation mi karon kon unsa amo nga kinahanglan i-improve.”

Ayuman is now planning to organize and train his barangay’s out-of-school youths to respond to various emergencies in the barangay and neighboring areas.

“Ato na i-organize ang among mga tambay o mga out-of-school youth nga paspas kaayo managan,” he said.

In neighboring Barangay Busay another fire totally burned down a house owned by Vilma Marquez.

Luciano Marquez Jr., one of Vilma’s sons, said that the burnt house was still under construction. The BFP received the alarm around 10:50 a.m. He also said that his brother, Saldy, allegedly saw a pile of clothing on fire as he rushed out from the burning house.

“Naa kunoy nakit-an sa akong igsuon nga sanina nga gi-daoban pagdagan niya gawas sa balay,” Luciano said.

However, FO2 Rudipher Comeros said that the cause of the blaze was electrical misuse just like what happened in Apas. The fire was declared under control around 11:10 a.m.

Damage from the Busay fire was pegged at around P70,000 while the Apas fire caused an estimated P50,000 worth of damage. (FREEMAN)