30 houses lost in Guadalupe fire

CEBU, Philippines - Around 30 houses were reduced to ashes after a fire hit a thickly-populated area in Sitio Sambag Dos, Barangay Guadalupe, yesterday afternoon.

The fire, which was called in at 2:25 p.m., was quick to spread to nearby houses that were close to each other and mostly made of light materials.

Three people were taken to the hospital, two of them were elderly people who had difficulty breathing due to the smoke and the other was a boy who fell to the ground after some residents ran into him in their haste to get away from the fire, said Insp. Jose Laurito, the acting fire marshal of Cebu City Fire Department.

Laurito said the fire started from the house of Josebel Roxas, although they have yet to determine what caused it.

The fire was raised to the general alarm as all available fire trucks in Cebu City and in the neighboring cities were needed to assist in controlling it. 

They considered it under control 27 minutes after arriving at the fire scene.

Laurito said they had to connect their hoses to reach the burning houses as the fire trucks could not navigate the narrow roads.  According to Laurito, their official list showed that 25 houses were destroyed while four were damaged.

However, Guadalupe barangay captain Michael Gacasan said the number of houses destroyed reached 30.

The area where the fire struck is situated three blocks away from the gate of Monterrazas De Cebu and just a short distance from the house of Cebu City south district Rep. Tomas Osmeña.

The acting fire marshal pegged fire damage at P200,000.

One of the fire victims, Razel Cente, could not help but cry as she watched the flames slowly engulf her house.

“Bag-o pa g’yud tawn na nahuman oy,” Cente said.  The house was just finished this year.

She got angry when she received unconfirmed reports that children of Christopher “Boy” Sanchez played with a candle that triggered the fire.

But Sanchez, a garbage collector of the barangay, said he did not notice his children playing with a candle as he was sleeping and was just awakened by the shouts of frantic neighbors.

Making sure that his children were safe, Sanchez was not able to save any property. His wife was outside buying something at the time.

Maria Jagoros, 80, who was feared trapped inside her house, managed to get out by herself after learning about the fire.

She lives alone in her house as her children are working abroad and in other places in the country.

Gacasan said barangay workers are yet to determine the number of individuals and families the fire left homeless.

Osmeña and Mayor Michael Rama went to the area to assist and comfort the fire victims who are temporarily sheltered in a basketball court near the area.  (FREEMAN)