After narrow roads hampered response: Tom: Reblock area hit by fire

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has recommended reblocking the area in Sitio Lawis, Barangay Pasil that was hit by a massive fire.

As firefighters would find out last Sunday, roads and passageways in the area were too narrow for vehicles to pass through, much more for the fire trucks.

Yesterday, after a visit to the fire scene, Osmeña said, “We have serious dysfunctions in the way the fires are being handled, one, the crowd themselves are not cooperative. Two, the passageway is so constricted.”

Genevieve Alcoseba, operations head of the city’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), said the fire scene is located in the Slum Improvement Resettlement area and it needs to be reblocked so that the fire victims can rebuild their houses.

“Nag-assess ta kinsa tong mga beneficiaries kay kanang lot, apil man na sa SIR program sa siyudad. Naay uban nga naka-title na sa ilaha ang specific nga lote. Naay uban nga wala pa kaimpas, maong importante nga i-assess siya,” she said.

Chief Insp. Noel Nelson Ababob, the fire marshall in Cebu City, said difficult access on the part of the firefighters was one of the main reasons why the fire spread fast.

"Ang area, densely populated tapos ang access ay hindi ganun kalawak; hindi gaya sa Metro Ayala," he said.

In fact, he said, most of the fire trucks that responded to the scene had to position only on L. Flores Street. Firefighters also tried to access the riverside portion of the area to no avail as the roads were too narrow for fire trucks to pass through.

Kibitzers also contributed to the congestion at the fire scene.

“Ang walay apil sige ra og tan-aw bahis-bahis ngadto, nakapuno sa congestion sa lugar, then kusog sad ang hangin,” said Nagiel Bañacia, head of the city’s disaster team.

Yesterday, Osmeña said another problem during the operation was that the fire hoses were not compatible with the fire trucks.

“Even the fire hoses are not compatible… it takes us years to find out that it was not compatible, the fire hoses of ERUF (Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation) is European, the fire hoses of so and so, it will not connect,” Osmeña said.

Bañacia explained that the models of the fire trucks are a factor.

“Ang usa or duha ka fire trucks kung mahutdan, dili compatible kay normal man gyud na nga naay European truck, Japanese truck so if ang gauna mahutdan og tubig na, i-relay nalang ang tubig para i-support aron dili na mahitabo nga incompatible ang hose,” he said.

Aid

At least 711 families or 3,570 individuals in 326 houses were affected by the fire.

Lea Japson, chairperson of the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), said the survivors were given food.

“Twenty-four hours nanghatag ta og lugaw sa mga affected residents as directed by Mayor Osmeña,” she said.

Japson said they are validating the numbers so that the financial assistance amounting to P20,000 can be released as soon as possible.

Disaster kits and kitchen utensils will also be distributed to the survivors.

Pasil barangay captain Julius Guioguio said the barangay has been placed under a state of calamity so that its calamity fund can be released and used.

“Karon, ang mga biktima nato sa sunog, temporary sila sa Pasil Elementary School og sa Pasil Sports Complex and Evacuation Center. Unya, sa Don Bosco [Training Center] dili kaayo daghan ang naa didto,” Guioguio said.

Yesterday, some fire victims scavenged what they could from the crime scene.

Lucia Padin, one of the victims, said they don’t have any other place to build a new house.

“Dugay na jud kaayo mi dinhi. Mubalik mi diri, wa man mi laing kapa-ingnan nga among kabalhinan, mobalik jud mi diri. Kani, among palimpyuhan aron mobalik mi diri,” she said.

Padin’s family has lived in the area for more than 30 years.

“Mag-trapal lang sa mi kay wa paman mi ikatukod. Magtinda-tinda lang sa mi og kan-on og sud-an aron naa mi mapangitaan og kwarta, aron makatukod dayon mi,” she said.

PO1 John Carl Aceron of the San Nicolas Police Station said no casualty has been reported.

“Wala man direct nga ni-report nga naay casualty. Wala’y niduol, ni-approach, ni-reklamo nga naay namatay or unsa man,” Aceron said.

Measures

Following the fire that destroyed Metro Ayala and last Sunday’s fire in Pasil, Ababon said they will be more strict in their fire safety inspections.

"(We will) intensify not just in major establishments but also in residential areas," he said.

Bañacia said the city will give more focus on very dense communities like Pasil. He said the city has actually trained responders there but the fire was just too quick to spread.

“I was shocked because Pasil is already organized. ?When they arrived in the area, dako na kaayo ang sunog," he said.

"They were bringing four fire extinguishers. Oone responder even got a minor burn (on his head area) but di na kuno matabang og fire extinguisher," he added.

He agrees that trainings and equipment of firefighters here must also be upgraded as the city grows economically. — Antoinette Marquitto, Mark Roland Romas (FREEMAN)