CEBU, Philippines – Three houses were totally burned while another one was partially burned when a fire broke out around 5:08 pm in a residential area of Cubacub, a mountain barangay in Mandaue City.
The fire was immediately placed on second alarm considering that the place was a residential area. It was controlled 15 minutes after and considered fire out after 5:40 pm.
Senior Fire Officer 1 Cipriano Codilla of the Mandaue City Fire Station said the fire started in the house of Roel Ebardo who tasked his seven-year-old son to cook rice for dinner using wood in their dirty kitchen which was located inside their house.
But while cooking, the child went outside to play and it was the father who noticed of the fire which quickly spread to the houses of his siblings Pedro and Mercy Evardo.
Another house was partially damaged.
Codilla said the fire quickly spread because the houses were made of light materials and the adjacent houses were too close to each other.
The affected families, numbering a total of seven, are temporarily housed at the Cubacub Barangay Hall and were served with cooked meals by barangay officials while the City Social Welfare Services Office will also be providing them food and relief goods.
The barangay will also convene for the possible granting of financial assistance to affected families.