Fire hits Maguindanao town, razes over 20 houses

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - A conflagration of still unknown origin razed down Friday night more than 20 houses in a historic, centuries-old riverside trading area in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

Datu Piang Mayor Datu Genuine Kamaong said investigators are still trying to determine what could have caused the fire that destroyed more than two dozen houses and stores at Barangay Buayan in the center of the municipality.

Barangay Buayan is a Spanish-era commercial area, located along the bank of a large river that connects to swamps and navigable waterways straddling through Cotabato City and Midsayap town in the first district of North Cotabato province.

Most of the structures destroyed by the fire were commercial buildings built in the 1960s, according to Kamaong.

Initial investigation by the provincial fire marshal indicated that the fire started in an old house owned by a certain Dhats Titu, and spread fast to nearby houses.

The Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Saturday dispatched a group of relief workers to Datu Piang to assess the extent of the displacement of local residents.

The HEART said Saturday it is ready to help the Datu Piang local government attend to the needs of the fire victims.