Zamboanga City fire razes 100 homes

ZAMBOANGA CITY - An unattended lighted candle triggered a big fire that razed around 100 houses in a coastal village west of this city on Wednesday night, a fire official said Thursday.

No one was reported hurt during the four-hour fire that displaced more or less 500 residents at Kampung Islam, according to City Fire Marshal Superintendent Dominador Zabala.

Zabala said the fire occurred shortly after 7 p.m. at the residence of a certain Hadja Salip along the Riles drive. The fire quickly spread to the other houses in the slum community.

He said that according to arson investigators, Salip could have left a lighted candle while he was in the kitchen. The fire happened while the area was experiencing a power outage due to the rotational brownout being implemented in the city.

Otong Barik, 39, one of the residents displaced by the fire, said that the blaze spread throughout their community in a matter of minutes. He said he was able to bring his six children to safety.

Zabala said the fire which reached the third alarm and lasted for almost four hours before it was contained.

The fire's estimated damage was P3 million.

City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco Salazar has ordered relief operations for the displaced residents who were temporarily staying in a nearby school.