AS MOST people were about to sleep, two separate fire incidents were reported in Barangays Carreta and Basak Pardo in Cebu City on Saturday night, January 6, 2024.
The two fires engulfed properties amounting to P9.75 million in damage, displacing almost 1,000 individuals from their homes.
According to reports sent by Information Officer Wendel Villanueva of Cebu City Fire Office to SunStar Cebu, they first responded to the fire in Sitio Kalapukan in Carreta that broke out at 9:23 p.m.
The fire scene is near the buildings of the Bureau of Quarantine and the Department of Social Welfare and Development Central Visayas.
The alarm was escalated when they arrived at the scene at 9:26 p.m., reaching the second alarm at 9:37 p.m., and ultimately the third alarm 12 minutes later.
Firefighters controlled the fire at 10:30 p.m., extinguishing it two minutes before 11 p.m.
Fire authorities reported that a total of 66 houses were affected by the fire, amounting to P4.5 million, of which 60 were totally burned to ashes.
The destroyed houses were shelters for 90 families, or at least 400 individuals, according to the report.
Fortunately, no one died or was harmed during the fire emergency. The fire investigator has yet to determine the cause of the fire that affected hundreds of residents.
Meanwhile, minutes after the Carreta fire was extinguished, another residential area in Sitio Kanipaan in Barangay Basak Pardo was ablaze again. The incident started at 11:33 p.m.
Responders arrived at the scene at 11:44 p.m., raising the second alarm at 11:50 p.m., and the third alarm five minutes past midnight.
The fire was under control by 1:54 a.m. and extinguished five minutes before 4 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 7.
Reports from the fire office confirmed that a total of 95 houses were affected by the Basak Pardo fire, of which 90 were totally burned down. Properties with an estimated value of P5.25 million were destroyed.
Authorities added that a total of 120 families, or at least 420 individuals, were affected, with one female resident experiencing a laceration on her left forehead.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined by the investigator.
