Fire leaves 123 families homeless in Pagadian City

PAGADIAN CITY — Fire razed some 110 houses Sunday morning in Barangay Kawit in this city, leaving around 123 families homeless, according to Chief Insp. Dioinisio Cayudong Jr., city fire marshall.

The displaced families are temporarily sheltered at the covered court of the Kawit Barangay Hall.

The fire of still undetermined origin reached the third alarm at 10:00 a.m. and was declared under control at 10:30 a.m. Fire out was declared at 12:03 p.m.

Six civilians were slightly injured and were immediately assisted by the medical team, according to Haron Damada Jr., an action officer at the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

According to Kawit Barangay Chairman Kim Lian Tan, firefighters had difficulty reaching the back portion of the burning houses as entry points leading to the site were narrow.

The initial estimated cost of damage was around P1.2-million considering that many of the houses were made of light materials.

The city government had started distributing basic assistance to the victims, according to Adora Alivio, chief of the City Social Welfare and Development Office. /atm